Twenty Five Hours
by der kapitan
Summary: There just aren't enough hours in one day. Akihiko/FemMC — "There will always be a vacant chair."
1. The First Hour

_Author's Note__:  
_So I am currently on my third playthrough of Persona 3 Portable; during my first playthrough I goofed and missed one of the lover flags for Akihiko, so I contented myself with Shinji and Ryoji. During my second playthrough, I finally got it, and um, IT WAS THE CUTEST THING EVER! D: I am, quite honestly, torn between Aki and Shinji, though, because I love both of them so very much and the fact that I got to date both of them was SO AWESOME. (Although I felt guilty cheating on Akibby so I abstained from loving up Shinjibby during my second playthrough.) Uh, anyways.

Basically, Minako is the cutest thing _evvveer_, and I _haaaad_ to write this because the NG+ ending with Akihiko totally broke my heart.

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**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

The First Hour  
_peace_

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

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"You look so tired. Have you been getting enough sleep?" His voice carries a soft tone, tinted with a hint scolding but mostly loving concern. She doesn't answer, only smiles as she inclines her head further, allowing it to rest against his chest. She can feel the soft beat of his heart, the even rise and fall of his chest. She feels her fatigue growing, but she isn't ready to sleep yet.

"Everyone's coming," he mumbles, and she giggles because she can feel the words humming through his chest. "Everyone remembers now." He's holding her in his lap, both arms wrapped around her, enveloping her in his warmth. He presses his lips against her hair and smiles.

"Why don't you close your eyes for a minute?" She leans her head back to look up at him through heavy lids. He's smiling at her in a way that instantly brings a grin to her face, and she reaches up to brush her fingers against his cheek. He leans into her touch and closes his own eyes. She can feel the sleep taking over her, and as much as she wants to stay awake, she knows she can't. When he opens his eyes, she's still looking up at him, but her own eyes are slowly closing.

"I love you, Aki," she murmurs.

Her lids finally slide over her eyes when she feels him kiss her forehead.

_"Starting now, we'll never be apart."_

_

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_

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

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AHAHAHA I'VE NEVER WRITTEN ANYTHING PERSONA BEFORE SO THIS TOTALLY SUCKS BUT OH WELL.

This is kiiiinda a drabble set, though I'm planning posting twenty-five parts (a ha ha, hence the title), and they'll be a bit longer than this. There'll be snippets from Akihiko and Minako's relationship and whatnot. Because this is the only way I'll get over the heart break of Akihiko losing everything he's ever loved. ; w;

Reviews, please? :D


	2. The Second Hour

_Author's Note__:  
_I've been in a bizarre mood for the past couple of days, as all of my friends have been going off to college. (Bizarre as in I'm not necessarily depressed, but I can hardly claim to be happy.) I typically run or work out when I have no control over my emotions, but since I was a retard and pulled something in my right knee whilst cliff-jumping last weekend (it was forty-feet high! :D), I can't really do that. Thus, I shall write, and party that it won't come out as shit.

Annnnywho. Due to four years of honors/AP English, I tend to overanalyze how I write and I forget that sometimes a river is just a river. The last chapter was written in first person (a point of view that I _never _write in) so that, as you read the rest of this story, it feels as though you're actually looking back into the past from that moment in time. Again, I put too much thought into how I write, thanks to English analyzation.

AND AGAIN - I'm sorry if the last chapter was short and incredibly mundane. I'm in a weird mood and I guess it effected my writing, ha ha. Still, thanks to **WipingAllOut**, **caramelmilktea**, **Hamujiro**, **Liza Taylor**, and **The Pink Alligator **for reviewing; anything you guys have to say is very much appreciated and I pretty much love your guts. :D Also, a shout out to those who read/favorited/alert'd and actually read my mid-life crisis up there.

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Second Hour_

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_"You and Akihiko-senpai look like you're getting pretty close. You're not trying to get him or anything, are you? He belongs to everyone."_

Honestly, Minako never really took threats or warnings seriously. Half the time they were only issued because the other party felt threatened themselves yet had no way of carrying out said threat, and the rest of the time it was some case of teenage angst that would eventually pass. She was a prime witness when it came to possessive boyfriends and insecure girlfriends; jealousy and rage just came attached to the whole high school package.

Granted, that was all before she transferred to Gekkoukan High School, began living in the Iwatodai Dorm, and befriended a guy whose legion of fangirls really meant business.

Minako had seen fangirls before; she watched Disney Channel and the Jonas Brothers, she attended J-Rock concerts, she skimmed blogs of girls who were borderline stalkers. Fangirls were just devoted fans who longed to be noticed by their subject of worship. There wasn't anything wrong with it, she supposed, so long as it didn't threaten anyone's health.

Again, this was before she transferred to Gekkoukan High, where she promptly found herself being "accidentally" knocked down a flight of stairs the morning after her first outing with Akihiko Sanada.

"Oi! Minako-tan, what happened to your arm!" Both Junpei and Yukari were gaping at the pear-sized bruise on her elbow, where she had so gracefully collided with the tile floor during break. "Did a Shadow bite'cha or something?" the male continued to inquire, wearily sizing up her wound.

"Uhhh, well…" She found herself staring at her own bruise, as though it were still something foreign to her. Honestly, she hadn't _seen_ the girl who had pushed her, but unless Orpheus was playing mind tricks on her, she was sure she felt a pair of hands on her back before she made the tumble. "Ah ha ha, maybe?" she offered with an impish grin.

Yukari sighed hopelessly as Junpei continued to ogle at her. "You need to take care of yourself, Minako," she scolded softly. "What'd we do if our leader got really hurt?"

She figured there was no point in starting a war against five million fangirls. Sure, she could summon one hundred and seventy Personae, and sure, she could wield a naginata, and sure, she was the leader of S.E.E.S., but she'd never faced such a large group of adversaries before. Just how many girls hopelessly worshipped the feet of her senpai?

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" she reassured, waving her hand dismissively. "I probably just ran into a wall or something."

Her friends exchanged a look of pure disbelief, but neither chose to pursue it and simply shook their heads. "Still, you should get that looked at," Yukari persisted. "I was hoping to go to Tartarus tonight since I got that new bow, but it won't be any good if your arm falls off. Why don't you go see Edogawa-sensei? There's still fifteen minutes left of lunch."

Minako looked down at the bruise again, which had admittedly grown since that morning, and gave in with a heavy sigh. "Fiiiine. But going to see Edogawa-sensei is just as good as being knocked into a coma," she grumbled under her breath as she slipped out of the classroom. She instantly felt as though a thousand daggers were being thrown in her direction, but managed to deflect them with her music as she put on her earphones.

_"I don't think I've ever feared for my life so much before,"_ she thought wearily as she carefully proceeded through the hallways, her eyes darting around in paranoia. She was beginning to wish that she had Fuuka's ability when she actually dove behind a pillar to avoid a group of Akihiko's fangirls. (_"Where did they get those buttons with his face?") _When she finally managed to make it to the Faculty Hallway, relief flooded through her - until she found that the nurse's office was locked. "Nooo!" she wailed dramatically, dropping her head against the cool metal of the door.

There was a chuckle behind her. "What are you doing?"

Whirling around and backing up against the door as though a Shadow had crept up upon her, she couldn't help but blush when Akihiko quirked a brow before laughing loudly. "Akihiko-senpai!" she squeaked in surprise, quickly pulling the earphones away from her head. "What are you doing here?"

"I was just talking to my teacher about my absences," he explained, nodding his head in the direction of the Faculty Lounge. "What are you doing?" he repeated, though with a small smile. "You look guilty."

_"Ironic,"_ she couldn't help but think, but quickly flashed a smile. "I wanted to catch Edogawa-sensei, but I guess he already headed off to class."

Rather than asking what had happened, Akihiko swiftly stepped forward and gently took hold of her arm, angling it so he could get a better look at the wound. Minako blinked down at him wordlessly as he examined the bruise, then suddenly felt a rush of chills run up her spine. Her Akihiko-senpai-Fangirl senses were tingling; she couldn't see them, but they were definitely around the corner. (Or all that time she was spending in Tartarus was really getting to her.)

"You didn't have this last night." It wasn't a question. She had taken him along in the party for last night's exploration, but she hadn't expected him to be so observant. They were always a little bloodied and bruised up after a night in Tartarus, so he must have been really aware.

Minako laughed nervously as she rubbed the back of her head with her other hand. "You know me, always being clumsy!" Her weak statement died off with another awkward laugh.

He looked at her skeptically, both of them acknowledging that that statement was the farthest thing from the truth. She was always light on her feet and had a good sense of balance; the way she carried herself in battle was evidence enough of that. As apprehensive as he looked, however, Akihiko knew better than to push it, and released her arm. "Alright, but be a little more careful, okay? I don't want you getting hurt."

She grinned up at him shamelessly and bobbed her head. "I will!"

Akihiko managed a weak smile, obviously still bothered about the whole situation, and chuckled. "Alright, come on. We should head to class before we're late." They walked side-by-side through the hallway and up the stairs, exchanging pointless but enjoyable comments. Minako forgot about the glaring girls and plotting schemers around her, instead easing into the comfort of her senpai's presence.

"Hey, are you free this afternoon?"

She had almost forgotten that it was Friday; he didn't have club today. "Hmmm, I think so," she mused aloud. "Why?"

"I was thinking of maybe going for a run after school. If you don't have anything to do, maybe you can join me." She blinked as he walked off, only offering a small wave and a smile when he disappeared around the corner.

Despite the various glares and a strangely powerful look of rage she received from one redhead, Minako couldn't help the ear-to-ear grin she bore as she skipped into class and took a seat. "Did Edogawa-sensei give you something?" Junpei whispered as Ms. Toriumi walked in.

"No, he wasn't in. I found someone else to help me, though." The hat-wearing male nodded and turned his attention to the front (thought grudgingly), allowing Minako to savor the butterflies in her stomach.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

If you didn't already guess, the redhead I'm referring to in the last sentence in the girl with the bun in Minako's homeroom. I personally enjoy talking to her because… it's amusing and she stalks Akihiko and her jealousy makes me chortle? XD

I love reading interactions between the S.E.E.S. members, so most of the stories in this will contain other members, rather than just Minako and Akihiko. Annnyways, I hope you enjoyed it, and, uh, I'll try to make the next one longer? :D

With looove,  
Renoh.

(P.S. Reviews make me happy. Like, a lot.)


	3. The Third Hour

_Author's Note__:_

As of today, I have completed my first week of college. And it was… interesting? Ah ha ha, well, it wasn't terrifying as many people had implied it would be, it wasn't _too_ confusing, and it really wasn't all that exciting. I'm kinda just indifferent about it, but it's better than high school. The freedom is nice, and I love that I'm taking the classes _I_ chose, but I, like any other young adult, hate school. So it goes. XD

This chapter is kiiiiind of Minako x Shinjiro, as a request by Hamujiro and for the inner Shinjiro fangirl in me. I'm really too fond of all the kiddies you can date in P3P, and though I'll probably try to integrate them into the drabbles/stories, Aki x Minako will definitely be the main pairing.

Danke **Liza Taylor**, **AKIHIKOMINAKOLOVER**, **Hamujiro**, **The Pink Alligator**, and **jory014** for reviewing the last chapter, as well as all you silent readers/favoriters/alerters. You guys rooooock. Just as a silent nudge, voiced reviews always give me incentive to update fasteeeeer~ :D P.S. HEY LIVEJOURNAL KIDS, hit me up! :D **frauleinawesome** (lol at my douchebaggery) is the name.

**

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**

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Third Hour_

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_Honestly, Aragaki Shinjiro intimidated her._

The way in which he seemed to glare at her simply when looking at her, the rough manner in which he spoke, the way he shielded himself off from the others - it all made him so difficult to approach. Still, he was Akihiko-senpai's best friend, which meant he couldn't have been a bad person, but more over he was now part of the group, and as the leader wasn't it her duty to make sure he was fairing well?

But even getting to know Shinjiro-senpai was intimidating. He wasn't necessarily closed off, and while he was a little rough around the edges it wasn't that that bothered her. The more she talked to him, the more Minako began to like him, and thus, the more she began to worry about him. He was hiding something from her, and that in itself was frightening. When she'd bothered him about it, he didn't blow up at her or curse at her like she had expected (his self expression was still intense even after opening up to her), but simply looked away with a sad smile. She didn't bring it up again after that.

It was the night of October 1, a night that was apparently fairly busy, as only she and her senpai inhabited the lounge. They were both seated on the couch, as they always seemed to do after dining, both holding a steaming cup of liquid, each simply enjoying the other's company.

"So that blond kid's really fond of you," he commented nonchalantly.

"Blond kid?" she reiterated, blinking in confusion. She quickly skimmed through a dossier of her friends in her mind, her internal arrow quickly landing on one flamboyant Frenchman, and she laughed. "Oh, you mean Bebe. That's just the way he is." While living in Europe, she did notice that they were much more affectionate than the Japanese, especially when it came to outward displays.

Shinjiro scoffed. "It's never 'that's just the way it is' when it comes to that." She continued to blink at him owlishly. This time he scowled and flicked her forehead. "Are you really that dense?"

"Oi!" she squeaked, wincing at the contact before reaching over and whacking him, nearly spilling his coffee in the process.

"Hey, watch it!" he berated her, raising his mug and steadying it to prevent burning a hole into his slacks. Sighing, his shoulders drooped against the couch and he threw his arm across the back, lightly nudging her shoulder. They shared a quick, meaningless glare before lapsing into a comfortable silence.

"He's scared of you," she stated off-handedly before sipping at her hot chocolate. He quirked an eyebrow at her statement, to which she merely nodded with a straight face. "It was that one day after school when he was walking with me to the gate. He said something about people saying bad things about you and you having scary eyes." She glanced in their direction, their gazes locking, and a grin broke out across her face.

His reply was simple: "… Oh yeah?"

"Yeaaaah," she drawled, shrugging her shoulders with a bored expression. "'Said you were a gangster would probably maul me when I least expected it and that I should stay away from you." She quickly glanced at him again, and was near certain she saw the corner of his lips twitch. "But I hope you don't mind me telling him the truth; that you're just a big softie with ooey gooey insides," Minako chided, leaning to poke his stomach with a fervent giggle.

He let out a surprised huff of air before smacking her hand away, making sure to give her ponytail a light tug before she retreated. "Cut that out." Even with having to readjust her hair, she was still grinning at him. "Brat," he grumbled, though there was a certain fondness in his voice.

The door quickly opened and closed, ushering in a shivering Akihiko. The silver-haired male cursed under his breath as he rubbed his arms, still unaware of the silently watching duo. "Welcome back, Senpai," Minako spoke up, both alerting and surprising the boxing champion. "Was it raining outside?" she asked, noting the dampness of his hair and shirt.

"Yeah, it just started up," he replied begrudgingly, internally wishing he had brought a jacket. "I tried to catch Officer Kurosawa before he went on duty, but I barely missed him." He sighed irritably as he fell back into the couch adjacent to Shinjiro, allowing his head to droop against it.

"I'll make you some coffee," Minako offered, already standing up before he could protest.

"What are you two still doing up?" he asked, looking between Shinjiro, who was sipping his coffee, and Minako, who was pouring an unhealthy amount of creamer into his red mug. "It's already ten thirty."

"Just talking," she answered. After stirring the mixture, which she couldn't help but note was almost white (especially in comparison to Shinjiro's black coffee), she walked over to her senpai and handed him the mug, which he accepted with a mumbled 'thank you.' "I was actually trying to figure out the lineup for tomorrow's party since we couldn't go today, but Shinjiro-senpai's never any help with that," she sighed hopelessly. The mentioned senior merely rolled his eyes as Akihiko chuckled. "How was your day, Akihiko-senpai? I didn't see you today."

She noticed him wincing after sipping his coffee. Too much sugar? "Yeah, sorry about that," he apologized with an impish grin. "I tried to tell Junpei to let you know I couldn't meet up with you, but he ran off to the hospital before I could say anything. I had a couple errands to run for Mitsuru."

"Oh, that's fine, I didn't really mind. I know you're busy, and…"

The silent teenager's eyes darted between Akihiko and Minako, silently observing them as they exchanged pleasantries. His smirk went unnoticed, and he shook his head as he stood up, mug in hand. "I'm going to bed," he explained shortly as he walked around the couch, making sure to wash out the rest of the coffee before returning to his room.

"G'night, Shinjiro-senpai!" Minako called after him, trying to control the volume of her voice as to not wake the others.

"You guys are getting along." It wasn't a question, and on top of that, he was smiling. Minako tilted her head to the side, wordlessly expressing her confusion. "I don't think ever seen Shinji open up to someone like that. I'm glad. I mean… Well, you know, he's not really the friendly type." Both of them snickered at the truth of this statement. "He needs a good friend."

"You're his friend," she said immediately.

He dwelled on the thought for a moment. "Yeah… But there are things you can help him with that he'd never confide in me. That's just the way our relationship is," he elaborated with a slight shrug. "And I'm not sure 'good' friend really applies to me."

"Well, you _did_ punch him in the face," she murmured jokingly, and he laughed lightly. "I think you're a good person, Senpai."

Akihiko looked at her, noticing that she didn't bear a smile. There was something almost sorrowful in her expression, and she quickly averted her eyes to the empty pink mug in her hands. He'd bought that mug for her for her birthday and had her name written on it; she'd been so ecstatic upon receiving it that she insisted everyone in the dorm get their own. "That doesn't necessarily make me a good friend," he said, and she noticed there wasn't anything reproachful in how he said it. He ran his thumb over his name, which was written in cursive in black sharpie (Minako had stereotypically feminine handwriting, he noted). "But thanks."

"You're too hard on yourself, Senpai." She was smiling again. "Hey, you're shivering," she pointed out in concern, her brow denting downward. "Do you want me to grab you a towel so you can dry off?"

"Oh, no, that's fine. I'm gonna head up to bed anyways, so I'll just change." He stood up, conspicuously shaking from the cold air in the room, and smiled impishly. "I'm fine," he reassured when she gave him that look.

"You need to take care of yourself, Senpai," she scolded lightly.

He laughed, making sure to ruffle her hair on his way to the sink. "Hey, that's my line." He quickly rinsed off and dried the red mug before placing it back in the cupboard beside Shinjiro's. "Don't stay up too late. You know what Mitsuru will say if she hears you fell asleep during class again." Akihiko grinned when the brunette stuck her tongue out at him, then proceeded up the stairs. "Goodnight."

"G'night, Senpai." She watched his form until he completely disappeared up the steps, then released a heavy sigh. She looked down into her empty mug, ran a thumb over its rim, and leaned her head back before closing her eyes.

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_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

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This was oddly difficult to write in the beginning, though I'm guessing it's because I haven't really written anything all week. I've been trying to write between classes (or even during class if it's boring enough), but I get distracted too easily and am rarely happy with the final result.

But, honestly, I'm content with how this came out and I love Shinjiro's guts. And I really want a mug with my name on it.

Avec amour,

Renoh.


	4. The Fourth Hour

_Author's Note__:_

I love college in that I don't actually _have_ to go to college. Granted, I haven't missed a class yet, but I've never really been given the gift of being able to lay in bed for fifteen minutes to decide if I actually wanted/needed to go to class or not. But… I guess that's just saying that I'm lazy.

A super huuuuge thanks goes out to those who favorites, read, and alerted within the last chapter. You guys rock and ich liebe dich. :D A special thanks goes out to **Ombre Rose**, **PochamaShadowClone**, and **xLeeny**, to whom this chapter is dedicated, for reviewing. Your comments keep me going and fuel the fire to my AkixMinako love.

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**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Fourth Hour_

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_Minako was thirteen when she had her first kiss._

She'd been living in Paris, France for six months, the longest she and her parents had stayed in one place in years. She attended a small private school, composed of both an elementary and middle school. The population was fairly small, probably three hundred altogether from Kindergarten to the eighth grade, and she knew everyone in her grade. There were more girls than boys, so there was always this bizarre competition between the adolescent females, though the sought after males didn't seem to mind it too much. Honestly, though, Minako wasn't interested; all of the boys were still going through puberty and she wasn't particularly attracted to any of them anyway.

Her friend Adelaide was hosting a Halloween party - the first coed party she'd been to since she was five - and they were playing spin the bottle. Minako figured there wasn't any harm in sitting in the circle; there were twenty of them total and what were the chances of the bottle landing on her?

Despite the 1:12 chances working in her favor, the old Coca Cola bottle pointed towards her when Nihel Boulanger spun. Minako couldn't remember much, and her first kiss wasn't as magnificent as all the girls around her had claimed it would be. She could recall some cheering and whistles, along with how Nihel had been so nervous that he nearly broke her nose in the process, but otherwise the details were blurry.

She had a couple more kisses after that, when she moved to San Diego, California and Munich in Germany. They were all small kisses, though, usually a spur of the moment thing on the boy's part and simply a surprise on hers. She'd never really been in a romantic relationship, and most of the kisses were awkward because she didn't seek anything beyond a platonic relationship, but she didn't mind. A kiss was just a kiss.

"Junpei told me it's a really good movie." The senior and his girlfriend stood in front of the Port Island movie theater, both skimming over and rating the titles posted on the marquee. It was the beginning of December, so winter was upon them, and despite being dressed in a scarf and sweater Minako used this as an excuse to cling to Akihiko's arm for warmth. "Although… The last time I took advice based on one of his reviews, I had to sit through another superhero movie." Akihiko visibly winced at the memory.

"Well, honestly, I don't know how willing I am to see another Bruce Lee movie. Cool kung fu moves and a poor plot gets old after a while." She looked up at him in a jokingly accusatory manner, to which he replied with an impish grin. "Can't we watch one of my movies today?" she inquired, sticking out her lower lip in a pout.

He cringed automatically, and though he tried to cover it up, she caught it and scowled. "Sorry, sorry," he apologized, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. "I just…" He paused, searching for the right words as to not offend her. "Chick flicks are hard to watch." She continued to give him "that look." "Oh come on, don't glare at me. You _like_ action movies, and you even said you like Bruce Lee. I mean… It's just not okay for guys to watch chick flicks."

"But a good boyfriend is always willing to watch chick flicks with his girlfrieeeend!" she persisted. While she looked up at him with large, innocent eyes, her grip around his arm tightened to a point where he began to feel it go numb. There was no way he was going to win this argument.

His eyebrows knitted upwards and his lips released a heavy sigh, but he nodded in defeat. "Alright, alright, fine… Just… Please don't tell the others about this. Especially not Junpei." With a cheerful (and victorious) giggle, Minako tugged her reluctant senpai along, with the latter purchasing their tickets before took refuge inside. They took their seats towards the back of the semi-filled theater, in a row all to themselves, just as the lights began to dim and the previews started playing.

Halfway through the first preview, which Minako would later excitedly report to Junpei as being the next Harry Potter movie, the before mentioned brunette felt gloved hand rest on top of hers. She twisted her neck to the side to look at her partner, whose eyes were directed on the screen, though he wore a small, familiar smile. The corners of her eyes wrinkled as she smiled back, then wiggled her smaller hand so that their fingers were interlaced.

Sanada Akihiko was socially awkward, that Minako could tell simply from observing him. He was popular, no doubt, but the way he responded and reacted to that popularity was uncomfortable even to watch. Girls flocked to him, yet he rejected all of them as though they were no better than flies. Girls sought out his companionship, yet he abrasively informed them he'd rather train. Akihiko was intelligent and powerful, but he couldn't smooth talk his way out of a paper bag. Honestly, Minako thought it was endearing.

But, at the same time, it made their romantic endeavors… well, awkward. He seemed to be rather fond of hugging her (though he always pulled back with a red face), and though it took some getting used to, they could now hold hands in public without him jumping back at the initial contact. They'd been officially dating for a little over a month now, and while they had grown considerably more comfortable with displays of affection, something struck her.

He still hadn't kissed her yet.

She'd tried a couple of times their first week together, by batting her eyes or leaning towards him, but he always either leaned away and tried to change the topic or he just pulled her into a hug. She doubted it wasn't because he didn't like her anymore (if that were the case, he probably would have said so, as he'd always been fairly blunt), but it was still a little disheartening. She tried asking Yukari about it the other day, but the brunette had been so preoccupied with her bow and arrow that Minako was afraid of being impaled; when she tried asking Fuuka, the latter female ended up pouring vinegar into their cookies; and when she tried asking Mitsuru, she became so overwhelmed with embarrassment that she immediately ran back out of the room.

The leader of SEES found herself constantly glancing at her senpai out of the corner of her eyes, and each time she found her stomach twisting in nervousness. Partway through the movie, at a point where the female lead was crooning over her attractive boss, Akihiko noticed and gave her hand a light squeeze. "Are you alright?" he whispered.

"Y-yeah!" she replied quickly, bearing a large, too-tight grin. "I, uh, just need something to drink." He instantly reached for his wallet, but she shook her head as she stood up, pointing to her own purse. "No, I got it," she reassured, then shimmied across him and out of the theater.

_"Gruuuuh, I'm over thinking it,"_ she wailed inwardly, actually grimacing as she hand the cashier her money. The heavily pimpled teen quirked a brow at her almost insulting expression, assuming that it had something to do with the movie theater's product, though she paid no mind to him and took the large orange soda with a mumbled, "Thank you." Feeling slightly better with her caffeinated companion, Minako slid back into the movie and retook her seat by a dying Akihiko. "What'd I miss?" she asked, her grin in her voice.

"Sexual tension and a horrible plot," the silver-haired male grumbled in reply.

"Sounds like _my_~ kinda movie!" she chirped teasingly, and though he glared at her apprehensively out of the corner of his eyes, he held her hand again. She felt the butterflies flutter around in her stomach and she unintentionally leaned against him. She paused, glancing at him to see his reaction, but though he stiffened for a moment he quickly relaxed against her, looking more content than before. Sensing this as a good thing, she rested her head on his shoulder, and he in turn inclined his head against hers.

It was about an hour into the movie, and it seemed to be wrapping up. Minako had lost sense of what was happening about a half hour ago, and she could tell Akihiko was uncomfortable with all the kissing scenes. Simply out of curiosity, or maybe it was boredom, she shifted her head and neck so that she could look at him. At that exact moment, he had looked at her, and their gazes locked. She managed a small, shy smile, one that resulted in his obvious confusion, though she left no room for question as she leaned in towards him. Akihiko swallowed thickly, his eyes widening as the spaces between their faces closed. Just as she could feel his breath on her face, he quickly lurched backwards, causing her to fall forward and, consequently, land in the orange soda between them.

"GYAH!"

"AH!"

"Hey, keep it down!"

"We're watching a movie here!"

Minako was the first to rush out of theater, face burning with embarrassment, and an equally flustered Akihiko followed after her. They both took refuge in a niche beside the theater they were just in, with Minako trying to wring out the orange soda in her favorite sweater and Akihiko looking at the ground. "Sorry about that," he mumbled, looking mournfully at the stain.

She refused to look him in the eye, and she felt as though her cheeks were about to burn off. It wasn't so much the fact that she'd fallen in a huge cup of orange soda or the fact that she'd probably never be able to wear this sweater again (though it did have a small part), but more so that he had turned her away so adamantly. She knew he awkward and that public and physical displays of affection weren't really his thing, but come on! She was his girlfriend! "It's fine," she said, grinning up at him in that pleasant way that completed contradicted her feelings.

He knew better, though. He could read her like an open book. "No it's not, I… I'm really sorry, Minako," he offered again, even hanging his head.

Despite herself, she smiled and shook her head, moving towards him to take his larger hand in hers. "It's okay, Senpai." He looked down at her, still appearing apologetic, but found himself smiling as well; hers was too contagious. "I don't like movies anyways," she concluded cheerfully, propping herself up on her toes to quickly peck his cheek. "Come on, let's get some tea." She moved into the hall, meaning to pull him along, but with a sudden tug of her hand she was only inches away from him. "Huh? Senpai…?"

"I told you to call me Aki, didn't I?" he asked, a kind tone in his scolding. She had only a second to flash a smile before his lips briefly captured hers in a short kiss. When he pulled away, his face mirrored her redness, though both were smiling shyly. Unable to hold herself back, she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

Okay, so I knooooow that the duo "spend time together" at the end of their Social Link, but I always thought it was cute how Akihiko always hugged you tightly and I bet he'd be awkward when it came to kissing. Trufax.

Thanks for reading~

Love,

Renoh.


	5. The Fifth Hour

_Author's Note__:_

Ironically, I ended up not going to class all that much last week. I decided to just not go to school on Thursday (I only have one class), but that was the day we had a quiz (which we cannot make up) and the day we were assigned our first essay. I just lol'd at my luck. Then I skipped US History lecture Wednesday morning just because I felt like it? And now I have two weeks worth of reading and I'M GONNA DIE. YEAH. :D

So I'm super sorry for not updating in a while, but, as always, you readers make my day. :D Special thanks go to **caramelmilktea**, **Ryfee**, **xLeeny**, **Liza Taylor**, and **FrizFroz** for reviewing~ I'll be answering your reviews at the bottom of le chapter.

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Fifth Hour_

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_Akihiko had never been to an amusement park before._

His parents had died when he and Miki were still young, and the orphanage didn't have enough money to take all the kids into the park. He, Shinjiro, and Miki had walked by it one day during one of their walks around town; the way his sister's eyes lit up at the sight of the amusement park made his heart drop. He'd made a promise to himself that day that he'd become something, that he'd make all kinds of money so that he and Miki could go on rides all day and eat cotton candy until they were sick. After the fire, he'd avoided even walking by the amusement park, even if it meant taking the longer route.

After joining SEES, Akihiko had found himself being forced to confront many things he'd rather avoid. This, unfortunately, had to be one of them.

"This is the longest line ever!" Junpei whined, actually flailing his arms.

"Shut up, Stupei," Yukari snapped, though obviously irritated with their current situation as well. "_You_ slept in and _you_ hogged the boys' shower and _you_ had to eat everything in sight for breakfast, so _you_ are the reason why we were late and got caught in the rush." The brunette angrily wiped a line of sweat from her brow, lowly cursing the summer heat. "And you even forgot the umbrella!"

"Who wants to walk around an amusement park with an umbrella?" Junpei replied with a scowl. "Hey, Aigis is a robot, right? Doesn't she have a cooling system or something?"

"Um, I don't think she works like that," Fuuka commented. As she fanned herself with one of her hands, though, she couldn't help but wish the Anti-Shadow weapon had fans built in to her. "Yukari-chan is right, though… It is pretty hot. I didn't think it would be this bad so early in the afternoon. Maybe we should just postpone this to another day?"

Just as Akihiko opened his mouth to agree with the teal-haired female, Mitsuru responded with a firm, "No. We've been standing in line for the past twenty minutes. It'd be shameful to leave after spending so much time waiting." Despite her typically cool disposition, Akihiko couldn't help but notice that even Mitsuru was beginning to feel the heat. "Though, even I'll admit that I'd like some shade…"

"What I'd give to be a kid again," Junpei sighed mournfully as he enviously glared at Ken, who stood in the shadow of Akihiko. "C'mon, Ken, switch places with me, won't you? I've been a good senpai to you, haven't I?"

"God, you're such a kid," Yukari grumbled with a roll of her eyes.

"It's only bad 'cause you guys keep complaining about it," Minako said good-naturedly, bearing a small grin. "It's all psychological."

Junpei's face fell even further, Yukari and Fuuka laughed, Ken and Akihiko exchanged a look, Aigis blinked, and Mitsuru simply smiled. "I… don't think it works quite like that," Akihiko said eventually. "Thanks for the attempt, though."

She shrugged and shifted her attention elsewhere, completely unaffected by the temperature. _"Maybe it is all psychological,"_ they all thought as they watched their leader, who didn't look the least bit perturbed by the scathing rays of the sun. Unfortunately for them, it was too late to attempt to adapt to her mind set, and it took another fifteen minutes before they could all purchase their tickets and actually make it inside the park. The moment they did, though, a rush was made for the nearest source of shade, which happened to be an already crowded large umbrella.

"I don't really know how effective this is," Akihiko mumbled, uncomfortably noting the close proximity of twenty other bodies.

"C'mon, we gotta get in line if we wanna ride anything!" Minako chided, standing in the sun with both hands on her hips. "The lines for the rides are just as long as the line in." A round of groans sounded from the other members of SEES (save for Mitsuru, who merely frowned) and Minako pouted. "It's not like any of you haven't been to an amusement park before."

Both Akihiko and Mitsuru raised their hands, the latter more abashedly than the former. Minako's eyes widened. "What! I mean, I can kinda understand Mitsuru-senpai, but Akihiko-senpai? You've never been to an amusement park before?"

He shrugged as though it were nothing. "I've never really had the time." It was half the truth.

"Okay. This is unacceptable. We have no time to waste!" Shimmying her way under the umbrella, she proceeded to push the SEES members out, completely ignoring their protests. "Hmm… The egg tilt has a kinda short line, so we're going there first." Not wanting to wait in another agonizingly long line, the others agreed without protest.

"So… How exactly does this work?" Akihiko asked as Minako pulled down the bar over his, Ken's, and her lap.

"Just hold on tight!" she replied with a bright grin.

Five minutes of endless spinning and various cries later, the members of SEES stood around Junpei as the teen proceeded to throw up the five course lunch he had just an hour before. "I don't think I feel that great either," Ken mumbled, resting his hands on his restless tummy.

As a wailing Minako hugged the youngest member of their dorm and apologized, Mitsuru and Akihiko shared a weary look. "If that was a preview for the rest of the park, I don't feel like I've been missing out on much," Akihiko murmured. The redhead bobbed her head ever-so-slightly and winced as Junpei made another rather unpleasant sound. "Hey, maybe you two should sit the next one out," he advised. Without arguing, Junpei and Kent took a seat on the bench.

"Why don't we try something easier on the stomach?" Yukari offered. "It looks like the line for the roller coaster has gotten shorter. Wanna try it?"

Akihiko had never heard Mitsuru scream before - and after that catastrophe, he never wanted to again. After being flipped upside down dozens of times and being forced into endless loops, the boxer could count ten nail marks in his skin from where his classmate had gripped him so hard. Yukari and Fuuka were pretty relentless in their screaming, too; Minako was cheering and yelling excitedly while Aigis just remained as stoic as ever. He wished he had enough sense to sit with someone who had never been on a thrill ride before in her life.

"I… I'm going to get some lemonade." Mitsuru stalked away, pale as a sheet.

"I'll go with her," Fuuka offered, looking a little sick herself. "We'll meet you by the bench with Junpei-kun and Ken-kun."

"And then there were four?" Minako looked genuinely depressed at the sudden drop in their ranks and, feeling guilty for some reason, Akihiko pointed to a decent-looking boat ride.

"What about that one? It doesn't look all that dangerous and there's practically no line." He offered a weak smile along with his lame recommendation, but the way her face lit up almost made his heart skip a beat.

Ten minutes later, while they were on the ride, his heart literally did skip a beat.

He and Minako shared a boat, while Yukari and Aigis shared one. Upon passing a Minotaur (_"What a bizarre theme,"_ he couldn't help but think), Aigis's Shadow instincts instantly picked up and she jumped up, shooting at the foam monster. The sudden shift in weight and her actions resulted in the boat tipping over violently, resulting in a surprised robot and a livid archer. Fortunately, they were the only four on the ride at the time, though they ran after getting off in order to avoid unnecessary conflict with the park wonders.

"Ugh! I'm soaked!" Yukari cried angrily, fruitlessly wringing out her pink spaghetti strap. "What were you doing!"

"I sensed a Shadow," Aigis replied stoically, simply blinking at the sundress that clung to her body.

Akihiko slapped a hand to his face and Minako poorly concealed her giggle. "Maybe you two should dry off," she advised. "And it's a good thing you're waterproof, Aigis." Aigis nodded in reply, but an enraged Yukari grabbed the blonde by the wrist and dragged her off into the sun. "Hmmm, should we wait for the others? Or should we just go on?"

He shrugged. "It doesn't really matter."

Her smile dipped into a frown, and she cocked her head to the side. "What's wrong, Akihiko-senpai?" He refused to look at her for a moment but, feeling her eyes upon him, he forced himself to lock eyes with her. A look of concern graced her features, though she seemed unsure of what to do or say. "You don't seem happy. You don't like it here?"

"It's not that. It's just…" He pulled his gaze away from her imploring eyes, unable to keep the almost intimate connection.

Her hand was on his arm, causing him to flinch, but she didn't seem offended. As always, she just smiled at him in that understanding way. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to - if you can't."

Akihiko shook his head, a bizarre clash of emotions stirring within him again. It had been weeks since they had gone out, just the two of them. After their last outing in Hagakure, some feeling of uncertainty washed over him, and he simply couldn't bring himself to look at her. She'd tried to talk to him, but he denied her, always hesitant and always unsure. Whenever he looked at her, something tied in his stomach uncomfortably and his heart felt as though it were stuck in his throat. But every time he rejected her or came up with some excuse, she just smiled and nodded, as though she understood, as though she were saying she'd wait for him.

"I…"

"Don't worry about it, Senpai. It's okay." Even if he couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes, he could tell she was beaming up at him. They stood in silence for a moment, with him feeling thoroughly uncomfortable and her simply being there.

Both were surprised when he was the first to speak. "Hey… Can we get some cotton candy?"

She was grinning up at him with the brightest grin he'd ever seen, and his stomach did another flop. "Definitely! I love cotton candy!" Minako skipped merrily alongside him, chatting absently with him over meaningless topics, as though knowing to delve deeper. He felt a small smile crawl onto his lips as his younger classmate cheerfully told him about whatever happened in school, her conversation going in no particular direction.

"Thanks," was what he said when he handed her a huge bag of pink cotton candy.

She blinked at him in confusion. "Thanks? But you're the one who bought it. I should be thanking you."

"You probably won't be thanking me when you get sick from eating all that," he teased lightly.

"Oh please. My stomach is made of steel," she announced proudly, marching forward while shoving large fluffs of candy into her mouth.

He chuckled, a ghost of a smile floating over his lips as he looked down at her warmly. _"One day. One day I'll tell you."_

_

* * *

_

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

During my first playthrough I was incredibly depressed when Akihiko's Social Link stopped at Level 7 until October… something. Mostly because I tried to max it out instantly and hate to wait mooooonths. So, here's a little episode for that awkward in between. :)

So I've been kinda contemplating writing a multi-chaptered AU for P3P, but I wanna get further into this before I start that. I need to really form a concrete idea on top of that.

**caramelmilktea**: A ha ha, thank you! I personally find Akihiko's awkwardness totally endearing, though it's not all that present in this chapter… I'm glad you liked it, though. :D I'm really not all that fond of Justin Beiber, but… now I know? XD

**Ryfee**: Nyaaah, I love fluff (kinda). I always saw Minako as being kinda pushy, but mostly super extroverted and whatnot, which kinda makes her aggressive. But, as you said, every author portrays her differently. :3 I LURVE SHINJI. I almost like ShinjixMinako more than AkixMinako, but… Grrruuh, I dunno. D:

**xLeeny**: Lololol, can't you totally see Fuuka doing that and ruining cookies for everyone? XD But thank you~ Again, I'm glad that people approve of my characterization of him. :)

**Liza Taylor**: Gruh, I know, college can be such a pain. I've been putting off my homework which is why I have time, but… that's gonna kick me in the butt. Anyways, thanks! :D

**FrizFroz**: What's funny is that I'm typically not a fluff writer. I'm personally too awkward myself to be able to write it properly, but I'm glad you like it! :D Gruuuh, I hate going back and catching nasty grammatical errors. D: Thanks so much!

_Always with love,_

_Renoh._


	6. The Sixth Hour

_Author's Note:_

Haiii gaiiiz. /wave I'm so sorry for not updating this in months. D: I don't even really have a decent excuse; my friends came back to town for break, I had finals, and... that's about it, to be honest. I'm really just lazy and I bought new video games and got distracted. XD But I picked up P3P again last night, so here we go~

Thank you thank you guys for all of your support. Especially to **Reizna**, **Meow Factory**, **Ryfee**, **Liza Taylor**, **Jonaleepuff**, **Cielle's Amour**, **Jade Ookami**, **The Aracana Quotes**, **OH YEAH MORTAL COMBAT**, and **Ryurieri** for reviewing! I love all of yooooou!

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours**  
a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Sixth Hour_

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

"_I'd say this girls' night has been long over due."_

Yukari was grinning ear-to-ear as she skipped into Mitsuru's room with her arms heavily occupied by chips, Hostess snacks, and a variety of other unhealthy snacks. Minako and Fuuka looked up from the questionable cake sitting in the center of the room, a brief look of relief swept across the leader's face when she realized they had been saved. "Hm? Where's Mitsuru-senpai?" the brunette asked as she dropped the night's supplies onto the center table, her eyes darting around in search for their older friend. "Oh, did you bake that for tonight?" Yukari could barely conceal her disgust for the oozing, too watery frosting that slid down the uneven layers of the cake. She managed to slap on a grin when Fuuka looked up at her sheepishly, though.

"O-oh, yes, I tried to make some sugar cookies, but I accidentally sifted salt into the batch instead of sugar," the analyst replied, her voice lowering with each word she uttered. She ducked her head in embarrassment, red dusting her cheeks.

Sensing Fuuka's dropping confidence, Minako flashed a grin and patted her on the back sympathetically. "It looks great, Fuuka! In fact, I'd say it should be the first thing we eat today!" As Fuuka beamed, Yukari inconspicuously glared at her, though she merely giggled in reply. If they all took a slice in the beginning, she figured, they could just drown out the bad taste with ice cream and twinkies later. Strategy came into play in all aspects of life - including slumber parties. "And Senpai's just getting changed in the bathroom."

"I bet she sleeps in silk," Yukari commented absentmindedly as she scanned the dorm room, taking in all the expensive furniture and electronics. "Even in a dorm she manages to live like royalty."

"Yeah, now I feel like a kid after seeing her room," Minako agreed, silently recalling all the stuffed animals she had lined up in her own room. Akihiko had probably been in Mitsuru's room before; after all, they'd been together and known each other for years. They must have had meetings or talked or something. Her room was so refined and mature, something that you found in mansions, not school dorms. In comparison to Mitsuru's room, Minako's probably looked like it belonged to a five-year-old. With that thought in mind, maybe it was a good thing she hadn't invited the boxer to her room...

She was pulled away from her thoughts when the door opened, and in walked the Kirijo heiress (who was, sure enough, wearing a white silk nightgown). "That's odd... There isn't anyone in the lounge," she noted, a contemplative expression on her face.

"All the guys are gone?" Yukari asked, surprised, as she took a seat on one of the couches. "Well, it _is_ Saturday night."

"That's true, I suppose, but Akihiko doesn't usually go out at night without saying anything. Did he say anything to you, Arisato?"

Three sets of eyes were on her, causing a blush to scrawl itself across Minako's cheeks. Though they'd done their very best to keep their relationship low key, few things could escape the watchful eyes of Kirijo Mitsuru. After spending all Monday and Saturday afternoons together, walking Koromaru together every night, and "consequentially" disappearing at the same time during holidays, though, even Junpei couldn't remain oblivious to it. They didn't spend every minute of every day with each other, but they spent enough time with each other for the entire dorm to know that they weren't just "good friends." ("If he's a good friend, then what do you do with your _best friend, _Minako-chan?" Junpei had asked with a grin after she gave him that excuse - shortly before being smacked him upside the head.)

"No, he didn't say anything," she answered, shaking her head as she ripped open a box of Hostess goodies. "He could just be taking Koromaru out on a walk, though."

"With Junpei and Ken-kun, probably, since his usual partner is preoccupied." Yukari's suggestive grin only intensified Minako's blush, and the latter promptly chucked a pink Snowball at the former.

Quality time was important, Yukari decided, especially between the female members of the squad. Sure, the five of them together (including Aigis) outnumbered the three boys (well, four if Koromaru was counted), but she had insisted, "We girls have to stick together!" In her defense, she had made this declaration just shortly after the hot springs incident in Kyoto.

"Where _is_ Aigis?" Fuuka asked, suddenly noting the absence of their robot companion. "We invited her to this, too."

"Actually, now that you mention it... I think I remember Aigis saying something about already being invited out by Junpei," Minako said.

Yukari bore a slight frown. "Well that sort of undermines the cause..."

"Oh well. I'll save her some food - I'm sure she'll appreciate the sentiment even if she can't eat it," Minako reasoned, taking a bite out of a Snowball.

They all settled themselves around the table, with Fuuka and Minako sitting on the floor, and Yukari and Mitsuru sitting on the couches. The each received a small slice of Fuuka's cake, which they all managed to successfully finish through toothy grins and obvious discomfort. "So, ah, what exactly takes place during a slumber party?" Mitsuru asked, with obvious reluctance. All three girls looked over at her, surprised despite already knowing her sheltered lifestyle. Having encountered their ogling, her cheeks flushed and she lowered her gaze to the bag of chips Yukari had forced into her hands.

"Natsuki-chan and I used to have movie marathons," Fuuka explained. All their eyes drifted towards the large, flat screen TV nudged up against the wall in front of them. "But... I don't really have any movies with me, and I think all the rental stores are closed now."

"We can just talk!" Yukari chirped, grinning as though her recommendation was revolutionary.

Mitsuru quirked an eyebrow. "Talk? About what?"

"Well... About life, school, problems... Boys." Once again, the attention shifted to Minako, who was suddenly very aware that she was the only one in the room currently in a relationship. "That being said, some of us are just luckier than others, eh?" She leaned down and nudged Minako with her elbow, wiggling her eyebrows. "So, why don't you start us off, Minako? How are you and Akihiko-senpai doing?"

"Finnnne!" she whined, smacking her elbow away. Her relationship with her senpai was not something she liked to discuss, simply because that sort of thing was just... embarrassing! Minako wasn't the kind of girl who went prancing around talking about how wonderful her boyfriend was and how she loved him and how they spent time together. If she did that, she would have felt as though she were showing off, and on top of not wanting to come off as a smarmy jerk, she also didn't want to be mauled to death by his avid fans. "We're fine," she concluded, shoving another Snowball into her mouth.

"You know..." She looked up at Fuuka, almost wearily. "I've always been rather curious - how did you and Akihiko-senpai... connect?"

"Um...?"

"I mean, how did the two of you know you didn't want to be just friends?" she elaborated. Yukari and Mitsuru leaned forward in their seats, also very curious.

Minako shrunk away from their stares as she rifled around the ground in search for another Snowball to keep her mouth preoccupied. Dammit, were they already out?

**...**

"Hey, can you hear them?"

"Shut up! And get your elbow out of my face!"

"I really don't think we should be doing this..."

"Aw, c'mon Ken, where's your sense of adventure?"

"Well, I don't know, this just seems really immature... And what if we get caught?"

"We'll only get caught if Junpei doesn't keep his mouth shut."

"Someone is approaching the door."

"Oh sh- Hide!"

**...**

"Did you guys hear that?" Fuuka, Mitsuru, and Yukari paused at Minako's sudden alertness, then shifted their gazes to the door. Slowly standing, Minako tip-toed over to the door, cracked it open, and peered outside. She frowned as she pulled her head back in and shrugged. "I guess it was just my imagination," she said, retaking her seat on the floor beside Fuuka.

"Or an attempt to weasel your way out of girl talk," Yukari teased.

Minako snorted, but didn't deny it.

**...**

Junpei heaved a heavy sigh of relief as he stumbled out of the corner, closely followed by Akihiko, Ken, Aigis, and Koromaru. The white dog whined up at Akihiko as he wagged his tail, clearly unnerved by the entire situation. "Sorry boy," Akihiko apologized, sighing as he reached down and ruffled Koromaru's fur. His soft expression quickly shifted to a glare, which he directed to the capped boy currently pressing his ear against Mitsuru's door. He clearly had a death wish. "This is a stupid idea, Junpei. We should get out of here while we still have the chance."

"Come on, don't tell me you're _not_ interested in what they're saying," he hissed in reply, careful to keep his voice lowered as to not be heard again. "It's a _girls'_ night, dude! They must be talking about all kinds of juicy secrets..."

Akihiko and Ken exchanged a look.

"They just mentioned Akihiko-san." They all gawked at Aigis, who stood several feet away from the door, alongside Akihiko and Ken.

"You can hear them, Ai-chan?" Junpei asked, peeling himself away from the door.

She nodded. "Yes. My hearing is acute. I can hear everything they say."

Before Junpei could demand to know why she hadn't said so in the first place, Akihiko had blurted out, "What are they saying?" The eagerness in his voice, which did not go unnoticed by the others, caused him to redden and shrink back.

"They are saying that-"

"Woof!" Koromaru yipped, growing more and more impatient.

Junpei and Akihiko scrambled to their knees, trying to silence him. "Danger is approaching." Before either of them could question what she meant, Mitsuru's door slammed open, and in the doorway stood four seething women.

"I-I-I-I can explain!" Akihiko protested instantly, jumping to his feet.

Mitsuru would not hear any of it. "Silence! I'm going to execute you all!"

**...**

Minako "tsk"d as she wrapped her sheep-decorated blankie around Akihiko's shivering form, which was currently seated on her bed. "That's what you get for eavesdropping. Come on, now, didn't you learn anything from Kyoto?" Another violent shiver racked his body, followed by a sneeze, and she giggled as she wrapped a red scarf around his neck. "Geez, she was really ruthless this time. I don't even know how she had enough energy to conjure up that many spells."

"Once again, I am a victim of another one of Junpei's plots." His head, which was beginning to throb painfully, drooped so that it rested on Minako's shoulder. "I think I saw my life flash before my eyes..."

She laughed, amused, and leaned her head against his.

They sat in a comfortable silence, with the occasional shiver and giggle, until Akihiko suddenly sat up. She looked at him questionably as he scanned his surroundings. "I just realized," he began, "this is the first time I've ever been in your room."

Minako flushed, suddenly remembering her thoughts from earlier. "O-oh, yeah," she managed, trying to smile. "It's, uh, it's well... Is it weird?" she couldn't help but ask. Shortly after, she realized that was what Akihiko had asked the first time he invited her into his room.

"I think it's cute," he answered, grinning reassuringly. "It suits you." That's what she had told him.

"It's not... too immature?" He blinked, then burst out laughing. Growling, she punched his shoulder, causing him to topple over onto his side. "Don't laugh at me!"

He pulled his arms out of the blanket cocoon and grabbed her hands, which had been swatting at him. "I think it's cute," he repeated, making sure to hold her gaze. She huffed, still bothered, and he chuckled as he placed a chaste kiss against her lips. "It's _you_, Minako." Her breath caught in her throat as he dropped her wrists and cupped her face. The proximity of their faces began to close, her eyelids drooped, his breath tickled her lips...

"Minako-chan?" Several knocks sounded at her door, instantly shattering the mood. Minako had this sudden urge to execute Yukari. "Ken-kun's taking care of Junpei now and Aigis is taking Koromaru out for a walk. When you're ready, we'll be back in Mitsuru-senpai's room."

"Okay!" she replied, and waited until her footsteps completely disappeared before she said anything else. "Well, I should get going. They'll be expecting me." She kissed his cheek and headed for the door, ushering both of them out.

They both walked down the hall, with Minako headed towards Mitsuru's room and Akihiko headed towards the stairs. They stopped just outside Mitsuru's room, in which Akihiko whispered, "By the way, don't worry, I like your pajamas more than Mitsuru's." He grinned as she blushed, then swiftly pecked her on the cheek before heading down the stairs. A sneeze sounded just before he slipped into his room and slammed the door shut.

Still blushing, Minako looked down at her sleeping shorts, which were decorated with different-colored sheep. "Cute," she grumbled, though she was unable to hide her smile as she rejoined the other girls.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

Here's something longer for you guys since I made you wait for foreeeeever.

_Always with love,  
Renoh_


	7. The Seventh Hour

_Author's Note__:_

I love this fandom, even if I drift in and out of it months at a time. Anyway, quite a bit has changed since I last updated; I transferred to a new school (out of state), finished said year, and am currently home for the summer. While (kind of not really) looking for a job, I've also been playing Assassin's Creed and Persona, along with a little writing. I actually had no real intention to keep going with this, but… Hell, I love you guys too much. Thank you to everyone who's reviewed up until now - you are wonderful. :)

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Seventh Hour_

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_Akihiko had been putting some distance between himself and Minako._

She wanted to be professional about it, though, because they were a team, and Akihiko was an integral member. Training and advancing were important, so she didn't want to let personal matters interfere with the team dynamic.

It had been another long night in Tartarus when it happened. Something shiny in the corner had caught her attention, allowing her to get clipped by an attacking Shadow. Sure, the black eye would raise questions and would probably sting for a while, but she had it under control. Besides, she'd suffered from worse before, and the treasure in the chest she'd been ogling at was definitely worth the bruising. While that convinced the others, however, Akihiko was livid.

"You need to be more careful," he scolded. "You were lucky it hit you from that angle - you could have permanently lost that eye."

"But I didn't," she protested, frowning. "Look, Senpai, I know you're just worried about me, but I'm fine. I can handle myself."

She couldn't stop herself from looking offended after he scoffed. "Obviously not. You let yourself get distracted and put yourself in danger. This isn't a game, Minako."

The others around them had quieted down in the barely suppressed spitfire. They all looked to their leader, who narrowed her eyes dangerously at her upperclassman. "I'm not the one who's been treating training like a game, _Senpai_," she hissed spitefully. Mitsuru might have made some affirmative comment, but the sour look on Akihiko's face kept her from saying anything at all. "And just coming into Tartarus is dangerous in and of itself. What the hell do you want me to do - wear a helmet and knee pads?"

Junpei snickered until Akihiko glared him down into submission. "I'm just saying that you need to be more careful," he insisted, with a little more anger in his voice. "Especially since you're our leader. You're supposed to be setting an example for us."

Minako wasn't someone who picked fights. Even when Junpei went through his moods and took it out on her, she rarely fought him. Right now, though, she was tired, sweaty, and her right eye was swelling up; she was not in the mood to be lectured by _anyone_. "Oh, I'm sorry I couldn't set an example for someone who's supposed to be my senior," she snapped, surprising all three team members. "Especially if that senior's someone who once decided to fight a huge Shadow on his own and break his ribs. _Sorry_ I couldn't show you how it's really done."

She combatted his reproachful look with one of her own, and the silence that ensued was less comfortable than the heated exchange. "I think we should call it a night," Mitsuru announced, speaking up for Junpei who was too afraid to say anything (for once). "Yamagishi," she called, "take us back."

In a flash of light, they were back on the ground floor. "Welcome back!" Fuuka greeted excitedly. "How was…" The grin slipped from her face upon seeing the disgruntled expressions on everyone's faces. "Are you all alright?"

Akihiko said nothing, only stalked past everyone as he yanked off his gloves. Everyone turned to Minako, hoping to find an answer, but she followed in suit. Unlike the older male, however, she was grumbling and muttering and cursing under her breath.

"What happened up there?" Yukari asked, raising an eyebrow.

Junpei sighed nostalgically. "Lovers' quarrel."

Aigis cocked her head to the side. "I do not understand. Akihiko-san and Minako-san are not lovers."

While the others chuckled and chortled, Shinjiro rolled his eyes. "It means they're both idiots."

* * *

The next few days were nothing short of awkward. Every time Akihiko happened to be walking down the 2nd Years' hallway, Minako would either spin on her feet and walk in the other direction or run back into the classroom. Whenever Minako was watching Phoenix Ranger Featherman R with Ken in the lounge, Akihiko would actually go out of his way to take the back door to get to his room. If one person was having dinner with the group, the other would have dinner alone in their room. It was a bad situation for all of them, but Minako was fortunate enough to have a little more power: Akihiko had been not-so-mysteriously left out of the team every time they went to explore Tartarus.

"I actually thought he was going to punch you in the face," Yukari commented in class the next day, after the fourth consecutive day of silence between Akihiko and Minako. "I mean, I'd be upset if Stupei'd been picked over me three days in a row, too…"

"Aw, c'mon, Yuka-tan, you know I'm a great fighter," Junpei whined as he wrapped his fingers around his imaginary katana and begun swinging it around. "If we're being totally honest here, swords and slashing and dicing are definitely way more effective against Shadows than _gloves_."

"Yeah, I'd like to hear you say that after being punched by Akihiko-senpai." She snickered when his face paled considerably. "Anyway. How long are you planning on keeping this up?"

"Keeping what up?" Minako asked innocently as she nonchalantly began flipping through a magazine of Tanaka's latest products.

Yukari gave her friend a deadpan look. "You know what I'm talking about. You and Akihiko-senpai - how long are you gonna wait before apologizing?"

"Apologizing!" she sputtered, looking absolutely disgusted by the concept. "_He_ should be apologizing to _me_! He basically called me a kid, telling me I don't know what I'm doing, prancing around like he's my mom. I can take care of _myself_."

Yukari had half the heart to make a comment about the barely fading black eye, but decided against it. "You know, Minako-chan, a lot of girls would kill to be in your shoes. Having Akihiko-senpai caring and worrying about them so much, I mean." She continued to stare blankly at her, causing her to sigh. "You know how popular he is, so you know how everyone wants his attention. He just lavishes it upon you, though. He could be overdoing it, I guess, but he's doing it because he cares about you - not because he thinks you're incompetent."

Silence followed, with only the sound of rustling magazine pages passing between the trio. The rustling gradually died down, until Minako was only staring blankly at an ad featuring Risette. "Ugh, you suck," she groaned eventually, dropping forward so that her face smothered the page. "Why do always have to be right?"

The brunette grinned brightly. "It's both a blessing and a curse."

* * *

Things were a little more difficult on Shinjiro's end. He'd had to deal with a brooding and irate Aki for three - now four - days, and his patience was wearing thin. "Why do I have to deal with this shit?" he grumbled to himself as he held up the punching bag, trying to keep it away from his body. Because Akihiko was absolutely inept at expressing his emotions, he had a tendency to let them affect his training. Granted, it was a good thing for him because it always provided an extra "umph," but it was less than appreciated by Shinjiro, who had (stupidly) volunteered to be his punching bag.

Shinjiro watched his childhood friend very carefully as he executed his punches. He was very tense, as he had been for the past couple of days, with his brow furrowed and his shoulders hunched. His punches were much more powerful, but they were sloppy - a sign and result of lack of concentration. His footwork was off, too, and that was elementary stuff he never forgot to pay attention to.

This was serious, then, Shinjiro decided.

"So when are you gonna drop your bullshit and just talk to her?" Akihiko actually stopped mid-punch. "This whole silent treatment thing - I thought we all stopped doing that in kindergarten." He continued his routine in silence, though the punches were softer. Shinjiro frowned. "Alright." He dropped the punching bag and managed to catch Akihiko's oncoming fist in one quick motion; the gray-haired male gawked at him. "I don't know what the hell is going on between the two of you, but it's effecting how we're doing in Tartarus. Quit actin' like a kid, Aki." He released his fist before shoving both hands into his pea coat and walking out of the gym.

Akihiko's gaze shifted from his clenched fists to the punching bag on the ground. He glanced over at the hanging bag in the corner, and before he could even think about it, he punched it.

_He'd chosen Hagakure again. They tried out several places on the island and near the dorms, but they both seemed to agree that this was the best place. Now that he thought about it, this was the first place he had taken her to. Something was different this time, though._

_ "How are you?" he asked, breaking the silence. "… Physically, I mean."_

_ She blinked up at him curiously. A small, slightly questioning smile crawled onto her face. "How about you, Senpai?"_

_ "Huh?" It was like he wasn't even listening to her. He wasn't even listening to the own words coming out of his mouth. "O-oh… I'm all right." His brow furrowed as he turned his attention to the bowl of noodles in front of him. He wasn't looking at her anymore. "It's just that… When I watch you fight…" He closed his eyes. "I get… I don't know…" Despite the conflicting emotions on his face and in his voice, she patiently listened to his jumble of words. "I feel… angry."_

_ Minako looked genuinely taken back. "What am I doing wrong!" she asked defensively. She definitely hadn't been fighting as long as him, but she thought was __**good**__, especially for someone dubbed the leader of S.E.E.S. Maybe she might have lacked some discipline and polishing, but really, who cared about form when they were being chased around by form-shifting ghouls?_

_ "Oh, no," he spoke up quickly, noticing her appalled expression. "I didn't really mean it that way…" He scratched his head as the conflict returned to his face. "it's not so much that I get angry, but I get irritated…" He definitely wasn't helping his case, he could tell. "No, that's not it, either. I guess… I get nervous."_

_ Now she was worried. "Do I seem unreliable?" To be told that, as a leader, she was unreliable - she wasn't sure if she could handle it._

_ The soft smile that appeared somewhat eased her fears. "No… You're really doing a great job." But now she was absolutely confused, and the constantly changing emotions he wore didn't help. "Is…" He bit his lip as he contemplated the next question. "Is there any way… that you can avoid having to fight?" The way his eyebrows knitted together immediately after he asked told her she didn't have to answer, that he already knew what she would say. "Oh. Never mind, sorry. Forget what I just said. I mean, you're trying the hardest out of all of us. I shouldn't have said that to you." He sighed and began prodding at his noodles with chopsticks._

_ Minako pursed her lips together, unsure of what this all meant. Did he think she was a good leader? A bad one? He said she was doing a good job, but he didn't want her to fight. "Should I still be the leader?" she asked timidly._

_ He sat back, startled. "No, that's not it! I think you're the only one of us who can take that role… I mean it. … Sorry," he apologized, noticing the small frown she wore. "I'm confused, myself… What am I saying…?" Minako didn't know what to say, so she let the silence settled between them, no matter how stifling it was. When he spoke up again, she held her breath. "Deep down, I know why I don't want you to be fighting… It's just that… I'm worried about you."_

_ With a heavy blush settled on his face, he turned away and focused on the noodles. "C'mon, eat. Eat up." She broke apart her chopsticks and indulged in the meal, though she enjoyed it a little less than usual. _

_ After the meal, they walked back to the dorm in silence._

Stinging pain and the sound of cloth ripping tore him out of his thoughts. When he looked down, Akihiko found that both his hands were bleeding, in addition to the broken sandbag in front of him. "Damn," he muttered as he tenderly ran his calloused fingers over the tangled bandages and bleeding knuckles. He backed up, until his heels were up against the wall, and slid down. He buried his face in his hands, closed his eyes, and thought.

* * *

"I'll apologize to her tonight," he'd decided when he left the gym, but it was already ten at night and he'd yet to even look in her direction. He was hoping that a warm shower would loosen his muscles, but sure enough, his cold feet were kicking in again. "Tomorrow," he mumbled as he sat down on his bed, with a fuzzy towel sitting on top of his head to dry his hair. _"No, not tomorrow,"_ his inner Shinji scolded. _"Quit dicking around and just do it. Man the hell up."_

With the image of a glowering Shinjiro fresh in his mind, Akihiko stood up and headed for his door. Just as soon as he began to twist the knob, however, a knock sounded from the other side. "Senpai?" The voice instilled such a fear that, for a moment, even inner-Shinji was terrified. It took a moment for him to regain control of his own body.

"Minako," he greeted, with a little less strength than he had intended.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I come at a bad time?" she asked, noticing the towel and his pajamas. "I can just come back-"

"No!" Both were taken back by his sudden outburst, but he quickly cleared his throat. "Er, I mean, no, it's fine. I just got out of the shower. Um." Her eyes were jumping everywhere - the space above his head, his bed, his couch, the floor - but him. She had never been this nervous around him. "Do you, uh, wanna come inside?"

She gnawed at her lower lip. "Ah, no." He couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed, for whatever reason. "I just… came here, because…" She paused, sighed, groaned, opened her mouth to say something, closed it, then groaned again. The corner of his mouth twitched every-so-slightly. "Okay, I shouldn't've snapped at you like I did the other night, okay? I mean, I was tired and grumpy, and I got a nasty black eye and even Mitsuru-senpai's makeup couldn't cover up and I didn't wanna be yelled at, but I shouldn't've yelled at you. It was dumb and kiddish and not leader-like, and even if I was super pissed at you, I should have just told you after or something." She folded her arms across her chest, still refusing to make eye contact with him. "And, okay, I know things have been… weird between us for a while now, but I don't want that to affect the team dynamic. We shouldn't let personal stuff get in the way."

He wanted to tell her that it was his fault that things were tense between them, that he was the one who wanted distance, and he was the one who was putting a roadblock in their relationship. He wanted to say that it _was_ personal, that he only said those things because he was worried and he cared and he just wanted her to be _okay_.

But "It's alright," was all he actually said, because he wasn't ready. Because he just couldn't.

She looked a little crestfallen, as though she'd been hoping for more. "Alright. Okay. Good." She nodded stiffly, trying to convince herself that everything was okay. "I guess I'll see you later, then."

"Wait, Minako." She'd only turned halfway when he called out to her. The same conflicted expression he'd worn at Hagakure had returned. "I just… I _am_ worried about you," he admitted, still unable to hold back the redness that accompanied his words. "I don't mean to treat you like a kid, or to make it seem like I don't trust you, or to make you feel like you're unreliable. You're… You're great."

She started blushing, and anyone passing by would have labeled them as tomato-faced fools. "T-thanks," was all she could manage.

"You…" His eyes traveled along the old carpet, until he finally mustered up the courage to look her square in the eyes. She held her breath. "You're very important… t-to the team, of course. I mean, you're our leader, and who knows where we'd be without you."

Her shoulders dropped again, as though she'd been expecting something else, and his own stomach did a flop. He wanted to smack himself in the face. She seemed to understand, though; she'd been around his awkwardness enough to know that this was difficult for him. She didn't know why or what she could do, but he was going through something difficult, and she wouldn't push him into something he wasn't ready for. She could wait, even if it meant stumbling across a few disappointments and confusions along the way.

"Thanks, Senpai," she said, much more genuinely this time. Her words were accompanied by her trademark grin. "You're important… to the team as well," she mimicked, a little teasingly. She giggled when he flushed, though they both knew it wasn't to mock him. "Goodnight, Senpai."

"Goodnight, Minako."

That night, he slept with a smile on his face.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

It's three o'clock in the morning and I'm tired and that's why this ended super lame but no hair don't care because I am so tired. Hopefully, it won't be too long until I post again. Ta ta and goodnight, everyone!

_liebe für immer,  
__der kapitan_


	8. The Eighth Hour

_Author's Note__:_

I'm working on a number of stories for the summer, but I hope I'll be able to get further along with this one. :) Thank you to **Ryurieri**, **blazblue-domo**, and **Xinliang** for reviewing - it means so much me when you guys take time to let me know what you think. Also thank you to those who have favorited/alerted, but I would love to hear from you!

Anyway, I'm tired of writing angst (thank my _Hunger Games_ obsession for that), so here's something a little more cheerful. Enjoy!

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Eighth Hour_

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_Sometimes, Akihiko felt a little selfish._

It was natural, though, to want to spend time with Minako - after all, she was his _girlfriend_. They both had busy and difficult schedules, so it was hard enough trying to decide a time when both of them were free. He had his boxing and school work and college applications, and she was busy with a range of activities - and that was fine. He didn't need to be with her every minute of every day, and a little space was good when they spent hours sweating and bleeding up in Tartarus the night before. Still, sometimes he wished it was _easier_ to hang out with her, and he didn't think that was too much to ask for.

"I think practice might get out early today. Coach is feeling sick or something." He looked up at her from his lunch when he received no reply. "So… Do you wanna do something?"

"Sorry, Senpai," she apologized, meeting his eyes as she donned a small simper. "I've got tennis practice today. I skipped last time because Bebe was having a mental breakdown, and the next day I thought Rio was gonna wring my neck… We can do something next time, I promise," Minako added when she saw the disappointed look on his face. "I promise!" She pressed a small kiss to his cheek, then jumped up.

He smiled, her cheeriness rubbing off on him (as it so often did). "Alright, you promised."

The next day, he spotted the look of apology on her face before he could even ask. "I'm so so sorry, Senpai!" she wailed, running up to meet him. "I know we were supposed to hang out today, but Saori-chan needs help in the infirmary since Edogawa-sensei is out. I'm really sorry! I mean, if you really want to, I'll tell her I can come in early tomorrow morning, but-"

He already felt like the bad guy, and he hadn't even done anything. She was so apologetic, so genuinely upset that she couldn't be with him, that his furrowed brow softened instantly. "Minako, come on," he said, trying to calm her down, "I understand. You gotta help out your friend." That's what he loved about Minako: she was always selfless, always helping others, even when she had no time. "I see you all the time, anyway. We live together, remember?"

Akihiko breathed a surprised "oof!" when she threw her arms around his waist in a tight hug. "You're the best, Aki!" His heart swelled. "I'll make it up to you! Tomorrow for sure!"

Tomorrow was definitely not for sure, though they'd gotten close. They were standing together in the hall, right outside her classroom (that was their mistake, he'd think later), when the abrasive boy from Student Council approached her. "Hey, Minako-kun," he greeted, only sparing Akihiko a second's glance. "Are you coming to the meeting today?"

The happiness on her face slipped off in half a second. "Oh my gosh, I completely forgot." Biting down on her lip, she looked up at Akihiko, whose body language betrayed discomfort. "I'm really sorry, Hidetoshi-kun, but I already promised Senpai…"

"Oh, no it's alright," the dark-haired boy intervened, though he couldn't completely conceal the disappointment. "I understand you're busy."

Before he could walk away, Akihiko nudged her with his elbow. "Hey, you can go if they need you."

"No, Senpai," she began to protest, "you already-"

"Don't worry about it. Another time." His smile was weak, but the way her face lit up fulfilled him in a way that only she could. Even if he did feel proud (of both himself and her), he couldn't help but glare at the Disciplinary Head, who placed a hand on Minako's shoulder. _"He's not even her type,"_ he thought dimly, but inwardly scolded himself almost immediately afterwards. She was _his_ girlfriend; what was he worrying about?

On Saturday, he'd been looking forward to spending time with the S.E.E.S. leader. Before they could meet up, Junpei caught him in the hallway and slipped him a pink post-it note. "Sorry, Senpai," he mumbled, pulled down the bill of his cap, and ducked away.

_Bunkichi asked for help in the store, and I couldn't say no!_

_Sorry, Senpai, you're the best!_

A little heart was scribbled next to her name. He would have thought it were cute were not for the fact that he felt overwhelmingly stood up. _"She's helping an old man and his wife with their bookstore,"_ he reasoned, scolding himself. _"Besides, tomorrow's Sunday, so she'll be free then."_

Once again, he was wrong. Minako explained to him that on Sundays, she liked to spend time with a boy their age who was dying and just needed company. Sometimes Akihiko thought it was unbelievable, the array of people she'd met since transferring, but then he reminded himself she sometimes went out of her way to befriend stray cats in alleyways. Maybe keeping her as his girlfriend _was _selfish, considering all the people who needed her.

"You look totally defeated," Yukari observed, wearing a small smile, when he slumped down in the lounge chair with a sigh. "I thought you and Minako were going out-" She stopped when he shot her an uncharacteristically murderous look. "Oh," she said, bearing a look of sympathy, "busy again, huh? Geez, I don't know how that girl does it. If she's not going to practice, she's doing some other school activity or hanging out with someone…"

"I know." Akihiko sounded a lot more exasperated than he meant to.

"Jeaaallooouuss~!" Junpei sang teasingly, impervious (or just oblivious) to his upperclassman's glare. "Seriously, though, it took you guys forever to get together. I expected you to be all over each other all the time."

"Minako and Akihiko-senpai have more class than you, Stupei," Yukari snorted, rolling her eyes. "Not that you could ever get anyone to be all over you in the first place…"

"Hey, I resent that!"

Minako entering through the front door interrupted their conversation. "Bwaaah, I just barely got away from the rain… Ugh, it looks like it's gonna be ugly tonight… Oh! Hey guys!" She wandered over to the sitting area, and almost immediately noticed the disgruntled expression on their senpai. "Ah, um, Akihiko-senpai-"

Sensing the atmosphere, Yukari jumped to her feet and grabbed Junpei. "Hey, we should go!" Figuring there was no point in coming up with an excuse, she dragged away a curious Junpei, leaving the couple alone.

The brunette carefully sat down across from Akihiko, who couldn't quite bring himself to look her in the eyes. When he glanced at her, he saw that her smile was weaker than usual. "You're mad at me, huh?"

It wasn't so much anger as it was frustration, even if he knew that none of this was really _her_ fault. He didn't know if he could find a way to explain it to her without offending her. "I'm not mad, Minako," he murmured, trying to keep his voice low. "I just… feel like I haven't seen you at all this week."

"But I've taken you on every expedition into Tartarus this past week…"

"Yeah, but we don't really get a chance to talk when we're fighting for our lives," he reasoned, managing a smile. "I know I probably sound…" He rubbed the back of his head, looking sheepish. "… selfish, but I just really wanna spend some time with you, you know? Like, really spend time with each other. We're both so busy these days, but it'd just be nice…" She leaned forward to hold his hands, but he shifted them so he could give hers an affectionate squeeze.

"Senpai," she began softly, "it's okay to be a little selfish sometimes. And, I need to put more into our relationship. Sometimes I forget we're finally _officially_ together now and not just friends/Shadow fighters who hang out every now and then on Mondays and Saturdays." He opened his mouth to protest, but she quickly cut him off. "You're my boyfriend now, Sen- Aki." She flushed and his hands tightened around hers. She hesitated for only a moment before pressing her lips against his. "I'm sorry."

"You need to stop apologizing." Tenderly holding the side of her face with one gloved hand, he leaned forward and kissed her affectionately on the forehead.

Unable to hold herself back any longer, Minako latched her arms around his waist (a situation they often found themselves in, much to Akihiko's delight) and buried her face in his scarf. "I love you, Aki." The words were clear, regardless of the material that muffled them. His heart fluttered as he held her close, finally at peace.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

Oh Minako, Miss Popular. If anyone has any Akihiko/Minako requests, just shoot 'em in a review; I'll try to do the best I can. :)

_au revoir, mon amour,  
__der kapitan_


	9. The Ninth Hour

_Author's Note__:_

Replaying P3P and falling love with this pairing all over again. (And reminding myself why it's heartbreaking and the cause of my constant creasy.)

**Ryurieri**, **Foresthunter**, **Luhlia**, **Namine23**, and **Guest** - thank you for your reviews! I will get to all requests eventually, but this one will be based on Namine23's request for the involvement of Ryoji (who I also love and who also continues to break my heart). Please do review and let me know what you think~! :)

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Ninth Hour_

* * *

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_Akihiko hated that Ryoji kid._

It was one thing to hit on Yukari, Mitsuru, and Aigis (the first two have proven on numerous occasions that they could take care of themselves and the other was a _robot_), but it was another to constantly approach his girlfriend. "That's just the kind of guy he is, Akihiko-senpai," Junpei had said. "Yeah, he's smooth with the ladies, but it's not like he _means_ it."

Akihiko had seen the way the blue-eyed cretin looked at Minako, though, and it wasn't altogether unlike the way he himself looked at her.

"Are you jealous, Senpai?" she asked teasingly when he voiced his concern. The way he snapped, "No!" so quickly brought a smile to her face and an embarrassed blush to his. "Ryoji and I are friends. He's a transfer student and I know how he feels to be the new kid, so I just wanna help him out a bit." She leaned in and pressed an affectionate kiss to his still red cheek. "Besides," she murmured, low and into his ear, "I've got you."

He went to bed pleased and relieved all at once, but these feelings evaporated the moment he stepped onto the train the next morning.

"Oh, Minako-san!" Minako greeted the devil with one of her friendly hugs (_"I bet I could punch him through that window,"_ Akihiko thought irritably when he saw his hands on her waist) before stepping back beside Akihiko. "Oh!" He looked at Akihiko, just having realized he was there. "You're…"

_"Minako's boyfriend,"_ was what he wanted to say, but she was quicker and good-naturedly answered, "Akihiko Sanada. The boxing champion!" He felt his heart soar at the introduction, grinned impishly while she nudged him playfully.

"Right, right," Ryoji replied, smiling in a friendly manner (_that made Akihiko want to rip it off_), "Akihiko-senpai. Junpei talks about you a lot. Well, and everyone else you two live with as well." He chuckled. "Ah! So you two are…"

"My girlfriend," he stated firmly, gripping her hand so suddenly that it draws a surprised "ah!" from her.

He looked momentarily startled, but a warm smile (_that made Akihiko feel awfully cold_) gradually spread across his face. "Is that so?" He looked to Minako for confirmation, and she bobbed her head. "Junpei must have told me so, but I guess it slipped my mind. Congratulations! How long have you two been…" Akihiko drifted out of the conversation between the brunette and her new friend (_demon_), focused only on the warmth and solidity of her hand clenched in his.

Later that night in the lounge, he had sensed that the others wanted to talk to him. "What?" he demanded brusquely, slurping up the noodles from his cup of ramen. He'd been on edge all day since the train ride, and apparently it hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Are you alright, Senpai?" Yukari asked, braving the task. "You've been…" He looked up at her sharply, causing her to startle back in her seat. "… kinda moody lately." She exchanged a look with Junpei and Fuuka, who silently urged her on. "Does this have something to do with Minako and Ryoji-ku-"

"I'm fine," he snapped, before she could finish saying _his_ name.

The way his underclassmen kept exchanging looks made his blood boil. "Are you sure?" It was Junpei this time, though he looked like he wanted to crawl up in a ball on the other side of the room. "N-n-not that I'm questioning you or anything!" Yukari looked absolutely exasperated, but shrugged exaggeratedly. "It's just… You know, Mina-tan might get worried and… I mean-!" He squeaked when Akihiko directed his glare in his direction, then actually dove off the couch.

"We just want to help you, Senpai," said Yukari, trying to ignore her classmate's whimpering.

"I don't need help." Fuuka and Yukari looked at each other. "Will you stop that!"

"Jealousy is completely natural," she continued, trying not to look too terrified. He looked absolutely aghast (so that the noodles in his mouth slipped back into the styrofoam cup), but she quickly spoke to keep him from commenting: "It's the first time in your relationship you've had to deal with this! I mean, yeah, there's Hidetoshi-kun and Bebe, and that sick guy she meets on Sundays, and maybe Shinjiro-senpai (did they even have a thing?), but-" He was red in the face now but she'd gotten too far to stop. "- this is the first time you've ever felt really _threatened_."

A tense, uncomfortable silence settled over them before he adamantly replied, "I'm not jealous."

A shared groan sounded through the lounge, even startling Aigis, who just stepped down from the stairs. "I sense unease," she stated, looking from the underclassmen to a very uncomfortable Akihiko. "Is there a problem?"

"Akihiko-senpai hates Ryoji and he won't admit it," Junpei said from his hiding place.

Her eyes instantly narrowed at the use of his name. "He is dangerous."

When they looked over at Akihiko, they saw a pleased expression on his face. "See? Aigis understands." Even with the anti-Shadow weapon's agreement, the looks of weariness the others have stirred a feeling of fear in the pit of his stomach. He tried to ignore it as he slept, reminded himself that he and Minako had a week in Kyoto to themselves to enjoy, but at night he dreamt of icy-eyed imps strangling him with yellow scarfs and woke up in cold sweat.

The next day on the train, he was still glaring at everything and everyone when Mitsuru approached him. "Akihiko." She didn't even flinch when his hard-eyed gaze shifted to her. "I understand you and Arisato are…" she trailed off, unsure how to word it, "… together. But try not to be too conspicuous. It'd be bad for both you and her." He wanted to ask her what she meant, but at that moment he saw Ryoji approach Minako, and all he wanted to do was punch something that would break.

He relayed Mitsuru's message to her later that night, after they'd dropped off their things in their rooms. His throat tightened at the look of disappointment she wore. "Oh," she breathed. "I… I thought you wanted to spend some time together, but…" She bit down on her lower lip, debating with herself. "Well, maybe Mitsuru-senpai is right… I mean, we can still walk around together a bit; we don't have to spend the entire week together…"

Both their smiles were hesitant.

At the end of the week, they'd only managed to get some alone time at the shrine, and even that was difficult to enjoy because the girls wouldn't stop chattering around them. On one of their last free afternoons, he went looking for her, only to discover that she'd already gone out. "Sorry, Senpai," Junpei apologized wearily, obviously still afraid of her reaction. "She and, er, well, you know…"

While he was devising plans to kill Ryoji Mochizuki in his sleep, he had failed to notice that Junpei was still talking to him.

"… hot springs."

"What?"

Junpei blinked before answering, "We should go to the hot springs. Tonight, I mean. We still haven't managed to go in, you know, and maybe it'll get you to relax!"

Later that night, he began devising plans to kill Junpei Iori in his sleep. He had a tough time dividing his glower between Junpei (who was looking awfully sheepish) and Ryoji (who was smiling cluelessly) as they waded in the hot springs. "Junpei didn't tell me we were gonna have company," he said, trying to keep his voice level.

"It sorta just slipped my mind," Junpei muttered and coughed, focusing his gaze on a nearby rock.

"I haven't really gotten the chance to talk to you, so I thought this would be an excellent opportunity," Ryoji chirped, which only caused Akihiko to mistrust him even more. "I'll admit I'm a little jealous," he said, with Junpei gurgling in the water in the background. "She always talks about you. It's like you're her world."

Akihiko narrowed his eyes at him, sizing him up and trying to decide if he was sincere or not. "Who?" he decided to ask safely.

As if reading his thoughts, Ryoji chuckled. "Minako-san, of course. She's great, isn't she? Kind and pretty and thoughtful, all in one small package. If I had someone like that who loved me so much…" Akihiko was trying his best not to look too pleased, but the small twitch at the corner of Ryoji's lips told him he failed. "You're a lucky guy, Senpai."

That moment, in addition to the camaraderie build through running for their lives and being executed by Mitsuru, made him think that maybe Ryoji wasn't that bad of a guy after all.

"I told you he was a nice guy," Minako chirped the next morning, after the other girls had coldly shunned the offenders. "Also, there's nothing wrong with being a little jealous. It's kind of cute on you, Senpai." When he flushed, she lovingly held his hands and kissed him on the lips.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

I've got a month until school starts up again and I'm stuck between being super excited and just not wanting to go. fksdjfksdjf I will try to enjoy what's left, all the same, and hopefully I'll get some more of this story out before the beginning of my junior year of college kills me.

_au revoir, mon amour,  
_der kapitan


	10. The Tenth Hour

_Author's Note__:_

So I decided to play as Minato after playing as Minako for approximately eight times. I got really far, didn't save, and then was killed with a Mamudoon skill. ; A; Since I have to redo two whole months, I'm just putting it off… Guh. But I got Assassin's Creed 2: Revelations, so I'll just busy myself with that instead~

Anyway - thank you to everyone who reviewed: **Ryurier**, **Guest**, **blazblue-domo**, **Namine23**, **Katarin Kishika**, **Kazedama-Miko**, **Yosuke Hanamura**. You guys are the best! :) This drabble is based on a request from our Guest, aka Minako in a costume and embarrassing poor Akihiko. Also - Mitsuru's request last chapter is based on your interpretation (whether it's jealousy or true concern).

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Tenth Hour_

* * *

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_Minako _really_ loved clothes._

Her parents must have left her one hell of a fortune because when she wasn't at school or leading the others in Tartarus, she was out shopping. Mitsuru accompanied her sometimes, but she was completely lost without her personal stylist and usually just watched the brunette pick out clothes. Fuuka had a very meager allowance, which she liked to spend on cooking supplies (unfortunately for everyone else), so she always politely declined going with her. Aegis was a robot who didn't really _need_ clothes, and the things she chose for herself were usually a terrible mismatch of function and patterns. Yukari, who Junpei swore had developed strong biceps because of all the bags she could carry, couldn't even keep up with Minako.

The male members of the party did a pretty good job of avoiding her when she wanted to go on one of her shopping sprees. Junpei was the least strategic and usually got roped into it through false premise, like going to the arcade an buying video games, though he eventually caught on. Ken finally began appreciating his age and size when it was easiest for him to just slip away. Shinjiro had always had a good sense of foreboding, so he'd usually slide into the corner until she was gone. Koromaru's senses worked well for him, and he ran through the door as quick as he could whenever he can.

And Akihiko? Well, Akihiko was just a victim of love.

"You're pathetic," Shinjiro grunted when his best friend told him what his plans for the day were. Junpei simply shook his head, while Ken looked at him with unmistakable pity in his eyes. Even Koromaru was trying to yip reassuringly as he rubbed his nose against his slacks. "Even Koro-chan thinks you're pathetic."

"Nah, he's just thanking me for being a real man." Akihiko's smile faltered ever-so-slightly when the white dog shook his head, then began pawing at his shoes. "C'mon guys, I'm taking one for the time," he sighed, defeated. "If not me, then it'd have to be one of you guys. Takeba's definitely lying about studying for finals, and I know for a fact Fuuka's out with her friend and Mitsuru's burying herself in books. Aegis offered to go with her, but you know what happened last time…"

Shinjiro snorted. "Don't try to turn yourself into a martyr. Just admit it - you're weak."

"It's not like it's a _bad_ thing, Senpai," said Junpei, obviously just trying to make him feel better (and failing). "I mean… If I had to go shopping with anyone, it'd be Mina-tan." Lies, all lies. His eyes betrayed him the moment he opened his mouth. "Well, um… Good luck, Senpai." He cleared his throat just as Minako came skipping down the stairs, dressed in the white skirt and orange shirt she had bought just seven days ago.

"Ready to go?" she chirped, oblivious to the oppressive atmosphere in the lounge.

"Yeah, let's go," he murmured in reply, shooting warning glances at everyone else as he grabbed his jacket. "See you guys later." They offered weak goodbyes, save for Shinji, who merely snorted and rolled his eyes.

"What were you guys talking about?" Minako asked on the way to Paulownia Mall.

"Just what we've got planned for the weekend." Her fingers brushed against the palm of his open hand, before casually lacing through his. He tried to suppress his smile as Minako walked with an extra skip in her step. "So, what's the itinerary for today?"

"Weeell…" He instinctively winced and braced himself; she was using _that_ tone again. "There's a new store that opened, and I wanted to have a look around… I hear they have stuff for guys, too, so you don't have to just sit around and watch this time!"

_"This time,"_ he thought dismally, despite the grin he wore for her. "Yeah, alright… Sure. Why not?"

The store looked mostly harmless when they walked inside, giving Akihiko a small sense of hope. "I'm gonna have a quick look around, okay? Let me know if you see anything you like!" Her hand slipped out of his, but warmth still tingled at his fingertips. He watched as she retreated around a corner into another section before deciding that standing around would do him no good. Shopping have never been one of his pastimes - let alone shopping for clothing - but what could it hurt now that he was here? With a sigh, he walked over to a rack of t-shirts and idly began sorting through the red ones.

Ten minutes later, with one red v-neck shirt (not completely unalike the one he was currently wearing - what was wrong with a classic?) in hand, he began his search for the SEES leader. "Minako?" he called, poking his head around corners and other customers. His feet eventually carried him to the dressing rooms, which appeared to be empty. "Minako, are you in here?"

"Just a second!" she replied, from the very last stall in the back. "C'mon, c'mon, I want you to see something!" He positioned himself in front of the door, leaned against another stall as he waited. "Did you find anything you liked?"

He glanced down at the one article of clothing hanging from his arm. "Uh, yeah, I guess."

There was a pause, followed by some shuffling. "Another red shirt, huh?" A blush of embarrassment spread across his cheeks. Was he really that predictable? "Well, you look really good in red, so I guess it doesn't really matter." His flush only enhanced. "Hmmm, I wonder how you… Okay! I think I'm done. Alright, are you ready?"

Akihiko had been expecting one her cute, yet modest skirts. He'd been expecting a brightly colored blouse or a floral pattern dress. He'd been expecting summer clothes likes shorts and t-shirts and flip-flops - not a _maid outfit_. The dress and the apron and the knee-highs and - it even came with a _head piece_. Words escaped him completely; all he could do was hold his hand to face and pray that it hadn't turned completely red.

"Sooo? What do you think?" She was _teasing_ him. He could practically hear the grin in her voice. "C'mon Aki," she pleaded (forcing his heart to plummet into the depths of darkness), "at least look at me before you reign down judgement."

"It's a very…" He swallowed thickly, peered at her through a small crack between his fingers. "It's kind of a…" She definitely looked _good_ in it, and the sultry look on her face didn't hurt either. "It's kind of a provocative outfit, isn't it?"

Her eyebrows shot up in amusement. "Provocative? How so?"

Oh God, was she actually going to make him say it? He shook his head, still unable to look her in the eyes. "C'mon, I… If you wore that around other guys, they'd…" He ran his tongue over his lips, trying to control himself and regain his senses; out of the corner of his eye, he saw her rocking back and forth in her mary janes. "Y-you really shouldn't wear that in public, I… I mean, I _like_ it, it… it looks good on you, but… Come _on_, Minako, please?"

"I don't know what you mean," she continued, giggling behind a hand.

This girl…! "You're doing this on purpose," he mumbled, tugging at the neckline of his shirt.

"Doing what, Aki?" That pleading tone, that _stupid stupid _(really _provocative_) outfit, her doe-like eyes -

Was this the kind of thing normal guys liked? Was this how guys were supposed to feel when they saw girls in maid outfits? It this how Junpei felt every time he mentioned it? That sort of thing had never interested Akihiko before, but Minako… This girl was going to be the death of him. "Y-you should get it," he mumbled, jumbling his words together in embarrassment. "I-I mean, not to wear around the dorm or anything, but…"

"Ohh, so you want me to wear it just for you?" How could she _say_ things like that so casually, out in the open like that? "I was thinking of wearing it as a Halloween costume, or maybe in Tartarus or something." He actually raised his eyes off the ground to shoot her an incredulous look, drawing a laugh from her. "Well, if it would make you that upset…" She stepped forward, carefully wrapped her hands around his neck, dragged them down until her fingers wrapped around the v-neck. "… Just for you," he swore she whispered as she pulled him back into the stall and drew his mouth against hers.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

The maid costume will probably be making another appearance in a later chapter. XD I do really love the interactions in Tartarus when she's wearing these things/the others are wearing their things.

_arrivederci, amore mio,  
_der kapitan


	11. The Eleventh Hour

_Author's Note__:_

Mostly I'm just super lazy and inspiration is hard to come by sometimes, which is why this is so late, ha ha. School's about… three weeks or so in, I think, so I've got a routine down. Hopefully the next one will be out soon? I'm not good at making promises when it comes to writing. XD

Thank you to everyone who reviewed/favorited/alerted - I can't believe I'm at 100 favorites! 8D It would mean the world to me if you guys left a review, though; hearing words of encouragement really is the best feeling in the world. That being said, thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter: **Guest**, **Pathetic Apathy**, **Yosuke Hanamura**, **outofthesun**, and **Areless**!

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Eleventh Hour_

* * *

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_"Please help me, Mina-tan!"_

Hearing Junpei cry at ten o' clock at night really wasn't anything new. The residents of the Iwatodai dorm had more or less gotten used to his flair for the theatrics, and ignoring the very conspicuous teen wasn't too difficult to do anymore. It was a little bothersome, though, when he began flailing about on the couch as he pleaded for attention.

"Iori," Mitsuru snapped, finally losing patience. "Stop acting like a child. And if you do anything to sully the material of that couch, you will be paying for it out of your own pocket."

With a defeated whimper, his arms and legs fell and he crawled into a small ball. Clearly pleased, Mitsuru went back to her reading.

"Ouch. Stung by the Kirijo whip of discipline," Minako snickered, earning a glare from her best friend. "I don't know what you want me to do, Junpei. Fighting Shadows and saving the world from sure destruction is one thing, but trying to salvage your love life…" He pouted, but she just laughed loudly in his face. (If that wasn't a sign of friendship, he wasn't sure what was.) "Ugh, c'mon Junpei, what do you want _me_ to do!?"

"You're a miracle worker!" While she was admittedly a bit flattered, she still scoffed. "No, really! I mean, you taught Fuuka how to cook something without killing us," (she sighed in relief when she realized the mentioned girl wasn't present), "you got Shinjiro-senpai to open up and cook us awesome food, Rio quit being so uptight all the time, and even Odagiri stopped being such a dick when you joined Student Council…"

"And I brightened up your life, don't forget," she chirped. It was definitely mean to be a joke, but the starstruck look in his eyes made her wonder how much it was actually true. "Ugh, fine!" she gave in, throwing up her arms in defeat. "But you owe me big. At _least_ five cups of coffee at Chagall." His jaw dropped at the proposition, but before he could even begin to argue, Akihiko walked in and she jumped up to greet him. "Senpai! Go out with me!"

A number of things happened in that moment: Junpei elicited this terrible excuse for a squeal, Mitsuru dropped her book, Koromaru yipped and began running around, Ken snapped his chopsticks in half, and Akihiko looked like he had been struck by lightening. In all this chaos, Minako did what she did best: smile.

"U-uh, um, well-" he stuttered.

"Junpei asked me to go on a group date with him, and I need a date," she explained, a little cheerily and with almost embarrassment. As Junpei gawked, he couldn't help but wish that some of her confidence would eventually rub off on him. "So, why not you?"

It almost sounded like an insult, or at the very least a last resort, but Akihiko didn't seem to notice. He was already a nice shade of red when he finally said, "Yeah, sure. Alright."

"Great!" she said, then turned around and bounced on the seat beside Junpei. "See? Easy."

On the other hand, he thought, this amount of confidence worked for Minako because she was cute and bubbly and for some reason, everyone was naturally inclined to like her. The last time he tried to be this forward, Yukari had stamped on his foot and smacked him so hard he could literally taste blood.

Some people were just blessed, he decided sullenly as he looked over at Minako, who remained oblivious to Mitsuru's heavy stare and Ken's longing expression.

* * *

Ushio Nagasuki was a delicate kind of pretty that usually scared off her potential suitors. Ushio Nagasuki was the kind of girl that turned away boys like Junpei Iori - so it was only natural that he went screaming down the hallways when she told him yes. "She said yes!" Junpei all but screeched when he found Minako outside the girls' bathroom. "She said yes, said yes, said yes! It's _on_ this afternoon!"

Her eyes were still spinning when he finally released her hands and stopped twirling her around. "Great," she replied, grinning. "How'd you ask her?"

"Well, I told her we were going to Chagall and she said she loved coffee… I also mentioned that we'd be going together with you and Akihiko-senpai…" He might have noticed Minako frowning if he wasn't so completely elated. "I mean, she wasn't super excited or anything, but Ushio's not the kind of girl who shows that she's happy… Aw man, this is gonna be so great, Mina-tan! Thanks so much!" He gave her one large hug before he bounded down the hallway, singing and sharing his joy with others.

Junpei's happiness was her happiness, but while his smile was contagious, she couldn't help but feel a small sense of dread in the pit of her stomach.

* * *

Awkward couldn't even begin to describe the date. The first five minutes were fine, as they had been settling into it: they took their seats, Junpei ordered ("Because you owe me, anyway," Minako mouthed when he gawked at her), and they began with the usual small talk. Thirty minutes in, though, "How are you?" and "How was your day?" no longer cut it.

Junpei swore he could have cried from happiness when Akihiko finally broke the three minute and twenty second silence. "So, Nagasuki-san," (her eyes definitely lit up when she realized Akihiko was addressing her), "are you in Junpei and Minako's class?"

"Yes," she answered, just before taking a delicate sip of her coffee. "And the three of you… ah, you all live together? In the same dorm?"

"Yeah."

"Interesting." Though Minako couldn't really see what was so interesting about living in a dorm, she did see the way Ushio's eyes scanned over the three of them disapprovingly. "The three of you are close, then. Well, I'm just guessing, of course." She smiled thinly. "I know Junpei-san and Minako-san are close, in any event. The best of friends, aren't you?"

"Yup," Minako replied, as coolly as she could. "He's a bit whiny but he's a great guy." She flashed a smile at the male sitting across from her, earning a small thankful nod in reply.

"Hm." Her long, thin fingers wrapped around the porcelain cup as she wore a contemplative look. "You know, a lot of people in class seem to think that it's something more than friendship. Of course, I would never believe a rumor without seeing it for myself, but… Well, you two certainly suit each other. You're very much alike."

"Not true!" the duo shouted, with so much veracity that Ushio just smiled and Akihiko looked absolutely bewildered.

"We're _friends_," Minako stated plainly, since Junpei was in a state of choking on his own saliva.

Ushio chuckled softly, in a way that was almost mocking to Minako. "I understand, of course. However, you must think of how this would affect others - like Akihiko-senpai." Upon hearing his name, Akihiko snapped out of his confused stupor. "I'd think you were stringing him along, the way you spend so much time with Junpei-san _and_ Akihiko-senpai. It's very unladylike, Minako-san, to do something so juvenile."

When Junpei saw _that_ look - the look that Minako adopted only when she was about to tear Shadow to shreds - he quickly turned to Akihiko for help. Their silver-haired upperclassman, however, now bore a curious, slightly hurt countenance. He couldn't _possibly_ believe what this girl was saying, could he? "T-that's not true!" Junpei persisted, looking from Ushio to Akihiko. "Mina-tan and I are just friends! I-I mean, you know, Senpai!"

"Well, you do spend a lot of time together," Akihiko replied, brow furrowed. "Even Mitsuru's mentioned in a couple of times…"

"Oh come _on_, Senpai!" Minako exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "We've _been_ through this!"

"It's not like you're going to admit it right on the spot, though," said Akihiko.

Ushio's eyes flashed. "Oh? You've had this conversation before?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Stay out of this!" Minako hissed, cutting off her senpai. "I should have pegged you as one of his fangirls!"

Gasping, Ushio stood up in her seat. "'Fangirl'!? I most certainly am not! And even if I were, _anyone_ would be better suited to be with Akihiko-senpai than you, you… you _heathen_."

"_What!?_"

"Mina-tan," Junpei pleaded, "come on, calm down-"

"Girls," Akihiko joined in, "let's just-"

"Don't you _dare_ touch me, you filthy-"

"Hey!"

In a tangle of slapping hands and unnecessary tugging, the entire tablecloth - coffee, sugar cubes, milk, and all - went flying to the ground. The entire café paused in silence to stare at the offending table, and in the end, the group date had been relocated outside. Ushio, glowering at Minako and completely ignoring Junpei, paused to smile kindly at Akihiko before storming off.

Minako lightly patted Junpei's back in comfort. "It's alright, Junpei. You can do better." Even if it was supposed to make him feel better, he still hung his head low. "I mean, you've gotta break your streak at some point, right?"

"Thanks for trying, Mina-tan," he replied, shoulders drooped. He glanced at Akihiko, who was still apologizing to the café owner. "So… about you and Akihiko-senpai." She just gave him a stern look, at which he chuckled nervously. "Yeah, yeah alright… Well, I'm gonna go conduct some video game rehab now… See you later, Mina-tan." She made sure to give him a comforting (and slightly pitying) hug before sending him off with a wave.

Akihiko joined her as she began ringing the coffee out of her school jacket; she could feel him shift awkwardly beside her. "You and Junpei…"

She looked up at him with such intensity that he actually took a step backwards. "Friends," she stated firmly. "Junpei and I are friends, Senpai. Friends."

It appeared as though he wanted to say something more, but her gaze was too fierce and he ended up giving in with a weak simper. "Right, friends." He fiddled with the hem of his vest. "So… What do we do now?"

Minako casually glanced at the watch she wore around her left wrist - the watch Shinji had given to her, Akihiko realized - before moving closer to him. "Well, it's still light outside, and we have time before curfew, so…" She beamed up at him, while he flushed. "… maybe we can finish our date?"

He tried to swallow the pounding heart that jumped to his throat. "Ah, but…" He looked around. "It's just… us."

She sighed as she slapped a hand to her forehead. "You only need two for a date, Senpai." To his embarrassment (and elation), she hooked her arm through his and lightly tugged. "Besides, I need some takoyaki and good company. Since I've already got half of that, it's only right that I get the right accompaniment, right?"

Spilled tea and public humiliation might have been the price for an unruly group date, but maybe, Akihiko thought, the means justified the end.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

Junpei's a little bitch sometimes in the game, but his friendship with Minako is my favorite, and I wish they'd expanded that more into Minato's story. Also, I really like requests, so send them in and I'll continue to do my best to make you happy! :D

_forever yours,  
_der kapitan


	12. The Twelfth Hour

_Author's Note__:_

I should definitely be more devoted to this story, and I should definitely update it more regularly. Especially since this thing is two years old and the last time I updated this was in September… And I'm not even halfway through yet. Gruuuuh laziness, you slay me.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, though! You guys are so great, especially if you're still sticking with me after all this time, ha ha. Massive kudos and love goes out to **Miss Hanamura**, **Sherbert-Lynne**, **Ayame Daemon**, **kingtransformo**, **Mistress of madness**, **NatKelly**, **VongolaShiro**, **iSayumix**, **Guest**, and **Kyu-Momo**! This one's another request from our lovely Guest, who asked for a Christmas special. (And I'm putting it out now because I probably won't update again before Christmas. XD)

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Twelfth Hour_

* * *

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_The end of the world was so close._

But all Akihiko could think about was how he was going to spend Christmas Eve with his girlfriend. It seemed like such a silly thing to fret over, especially considering what they had looming ahead of them. All the same, it bothered him for the majority of the day, until he was forced to enlist in Junpei's aid.

"Wow, you're gonna be spendin' your first Christmas together, huh?" Junpei asked, whistling in admiration. "You know, at the beginning of the year, I totally thought it'd be me she'd be hooking up with…" Akihiko wasn't sure if Junpei was kidding or not, but he glowered at the underclassmen hard enough that he quickly apologized and retracted the statement. "W-well, why don't you take her out to dinner or something?"

"We always do that," he replied. Most evenings they spent together, it was at either at Hagakure or Wakatsu. It wasn't as though he _minded_ (since he had many fond memories at both places), but this was Christmas Eve and he wanted it to be special. Aside from that, there was this small voice at the back of his head telling him that this could be their last Christmas together. December 31 would be here soon. "I feel like we should do something… different."

Junpei looks exasperated. "Seriously, Akihiko-senpai?"

"What?" Akihiko blinks, not understanding.

"You get more action than I do. Why are you asking me?"

Akihiko was a little more than embarrassed to admit that it was true. Junpei did spend most of his free nights sitting on the couch whining about not having a girlfriend, but at the same time Akihiko was also sure that Junpei understood this whole relationship thing better than him. Sure, he and Minako had been dating for a couple of months now, but she'd been his first everything. "Well, you read books and watch movies on this kind of thing," he reasoned with a bit of shame. (He still couldn't believe he was asking _Junpei_ of all people.) "I just thought you could, you know, help me out." This was absolutely degrading.

At least Junpei was getting a kick out of it. "Wow, this is something… I never thought _you'd_ becoming to _me_ for help… It's like the world's been flipped upside down!" Akihiko let Junpei laugh and chortle, even if he just wanted to punch the guy in the throat. "Geez… Well, why don't you just ask her what she wants to do?"

"I thought girls liked being surprised?"

Junpei shrugged. "No one really know what girls actually like. I'm pretty sure _girls_ don't know what girls actually like. You just gotta wing it, man."

"That's no help at all."

"Hey, I'm trying to figure out the mystery of the female as much as you are. We're all in need of advice."

Later that day, long after he left Junpei behind, Akihiko regretted not socking him, at least once, in the face.

Though he was as lost at the end of the day as he had been at the beginning, he sent Minako a text anyway. She replied with a very cheerful and excited answer, which made him feel even worse about the fact that he had no idea what they were actually going to do. When he went to pick her up at the end of the day, she greeted him with a grin. "Merry Christmas, Senpai!" she said as she jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. He spluttered, still unused to physical displays of affection (especially in public), but she pulled away unfazed.

"Careful, Minako. His fanclub might be on the prowl again, and we'd hate to lose you just a week before the big decision," Yukari teased.

Minako stuck out her tongue in response. "It's Christmas. I can be as clingy as I want." Her grin made it a little easier to ignore the stares directed in his direction. "Ready to go?"

"Hm, yeah." He glanced at Yukari, who raised an eyebrow at him, then at Junpei, who gave him a thumb's up. He turned his gaze to Minako. "Yeah, let's go." He took her hand in his, which brought a fond smile to her lips, and led her out of the school. "I, uh… I don't really know where we're going," he admitted sheepishly as soon as they passed through the gates. "I'm not really good at planning this kind of thing."

She laughed, though it wasn't mocking. "That's okay. I'm just glad I get to be with you."

Her frankness, as usual, brought a blush to his cheeks. "M-me, too."

Minako moved closer to him, crossing their arms slightly. "Let's just go for a walk."

"But you're freezing."

"It's okay. You're with me." He was sure he'd never get tired of hearing that.

So they wandered around aimlessly on Christmas Eve, taking the train back and forth as though they were travelers in a new land. They wandered outside Hagakure, visited the old couple at Bookworm, said prayers at the shrine, ran up and down the slides and played on the monkey bars. They traced and retraced their steps all across Tatsumi Port Island, recalling nearly forgotten memories and ones that were still fresh and new in their minds.

When they passed by the alley way behind Port Island station, where both of them were sure they could still see blood stains, Akihiko felt her fingers shudder between his. He'd always wanted to ask (_"How close were you and Shinji?" "Did you ever have feelings for him?" "Did you love him?"_), but part of him was still afraid and the other doesn't want to ruin what they're having right now. He just squeezed her fingers, giving her some reassurance, but when she looked up there are no tears in her eyes. The smile was bright in the red depths of her eyes, and in that moment he was so in love with her that all he could do was swoop down and kiss her.

They eventually found themselves in Paulownia Mall, which had been festively decorated with tall Christmas trees and colorful lights. After a long day of walking, Akihiko was more than compliant when Minako pulled him down onto a bench beside her. Instinctively, he wrapped an arm around her as she pressed close against him. "Geez, your ears are freezing," he said as she leaned her head to the crook of his neck. "Are you sure you don't wanna head back to the dorm? We can have some coffee."

"Maybe a little later," she said. He looked down at her hands, which she had intertwined. "It's kinda nice, just having the two of us here, you know? Everyone will be back at the dorm by now."

He nodded. They'd all be wanting to escape the cold, and Akihiko doubted that they'd get any time alone if they went back now. "I guess you're right." He stuck his hand into his pocket and his fingers brushed against something cold. Immediately, his pulse quickened when he thought about the present. Would she like it? Would she laugh at it? Would she even use it? Akihiko had bought it weeks ago and he was still second-guessing himself.

"Since we've all been running around like crazy, I haven't had you all to myself in a while," she said. "It probably sounds a little selfish since we have such a big thing to decide on, but…"

"No," he interrupted, "I understand." He pressed a soft kiss to the crown of her head, oblivious to the couples and frantic mothers running around them. She sighed softly, her breath fanning across the exposed skin of his neck. He swallowed thickly as he closed his eyes, and tried to just enjoy that moment. No words were ever needed between them; even if he loved talking with Minako, he expressed himself best physically. Coming up with topics and conversation had never been his forte, but being with Minako, everything came naturally. Everything felt in place.

Minako shifted against them, pulling away slightly. (He tried his best to hide his disappointment, but from the slight grin she wore he could surmise he failed.) "I, um… I got you something." Her cheeks flushed so brightly that they couldn't possibly be attributed to the cold air. It was unlike her to be this sheepish. "It's… It's really not a big deal or anything, and I had a lot of help from Bebe, but I, uh… W-well…" She pulled a small wrapped package out of her jacket and handed it to him. "Go ahead! Open it!"

Akihiko wasn't used to receiving presents, and he still hadn't become accustomed to the idea even if it was from his girlfriend. Something wrenched at his heart when he looked at this small, messily wrapped parcel in his lap. He didn't say anything as he unwrapped it and fiddled with the red ribbon, as he pulled out the crocheted scarf, as he felt the materials between his fingers. It didn't feel real, this hand made red scarf. His heart leapt.

Minako, who had been wordless beside him, fiddled with her hands in her lap. "S-so, do you like it…?"

"Minako, I…" His words caught in his throat, again. Anything and everything he wanted to say didn't register, again. Words had failed him, again.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her, pulling her body flush against his. She gasped softly in surprise at the action, but easily fell into his embrace and buried her face against the cold skin of his neck. He could feel her heart beat through their clothes, shuddered with every breath she took.

"It's just a scarf," she mumbled teasingly.

Akihiko broke the embrace to grin lopsidedly. "Sorry. I just… I'm not really good with words." She giggled because it was the truest thing she'd ever heard. "Thank you, Minako." He hesitated for another moment before reaching into his pocket. He hadn't even bothered to wrap it. "I… I've never had to buy something like this before, so… I don't know if it's right or anything, but—"

"It's so pretty." Minako took the delicate little music box out of his hand. Her finger brushed against the cool material, traced the intricate patterns carved into it. Her face was unreadable.

"The lady told me you can use it to store jewelry," he explained. "I'll get something for you to put in it. Every year." He felt his neck heat up at the words, as she raised her eyes from the music box to him. He wished she'd smile or grin; her doe eyes made him wonder if he'd really messed up after all.

When she finally spoke up, her voice was soft. "This is literally the sweetest thing anyone has ever given to me. I…" She put her other hand over the music box, cupping it like it was some kind of priceless treasure. "Thank you so much, Aki."

From afar, they might have looked like two awkward teenagers on their first Christmas date, sitting on a bench and blushing.

In reality, they were just a boy and a girl who had found peace in the chaos.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

Akihiko and Minako still make my heart flutter. And so does Shinjiro, which is why he's in here not so subtlety, ha ha. Still taking requests and ideas for this drabble/one-shot set!

**xx, **der kapitan


	13. The Thirteenth Hour

_Author's Note__:_

Lately all I've been doing is watching Katekyo Hitman Reborn! and Ryohei kinda reminds me of Akihiko (just kind of… like, in the sense that they're boxers and that's basically it ahaha), so… I felt inspired to write this? XD I don't know. My priorities and inspiration are stupid.

But thank you to everyone who reviewed and has been so supportive! I promise I'll get to your requests soon, but I just wanted to do this for reasons…? Yeah. Also, Happy New Year!

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Thirteenth Hour_

* * *

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_Minako had never been to one of Akihiko's boxing matches before._

Granted, he'd never been to one of her tennis matches either, but weren't couples supposed to do that kind of thing? Show up each other's club activities and cheer them on? Make signs and shirts and wear jerseys with their significant other's name on the back? One of her friends was dating the captain of the kendo team and apparently she hadn't missed a single match or conference since they started dating. Minako didn't think about how bizarre it was that she didn't do the same for her own boyfriend until this friend mentioned it. "What? You've never gone to see him?" she gasped, like it was the craziest thing in the world. "Doesn't that make him angry? Or sad?"

"I don't think so," Minako said. Aside from having practice every day except for Monday and Saturday, she didn't know much about his club activities other than the fact that it gave him more time to train outside of Tartarus. "He's never asked me to come."

Her friend sighed and patted her shoulder; Minako felt like a confused child who was being pitied by her mother. "He's probably just waiting for you to show up."

Minako scoffed and brushed it off. Sure, Akihiko was pretty awkward when it came to emotions and dating, but he'd let her know if something like that was bothering him, wouldn't he…? _Then again, he ignored me for two months because he couldn't figure out if he liked me or thought of me as a sister,_ she thought dismally. Everything spiraled downhill from there, and by the end of the week she was on the verge of tearing out her hair.

What if her friend was right? What if he was just waiting for her to ask about his matches? What if he was waiting for her to show up and support him, because that was the natural thing to do? What if he felt like she didn't care? They'd worked out and trained together, but she'd never really given his actual boxing a second thought. Obviously it was something he was passionate about since he was still doing it — yet she'd ignored it.

_I'm the worst girlfriend ever,_ she decided.

After a full day of sulking and self-deprecation, she stalked up to Yukari's room for some advice. "Who told you that?" Yukari asked when Minako finished her tale of woe. "Was it Megumi? Because if it was Megumi, she's an idiot."

Minako flicked her wrist dismissively (even if the perpetrator in question was, in fact, Megumi). "That's not the point, Yukari. The point is that Akihiko-senpai has a hard enough time trying to get used to this dating thing, and now he probably thinks I'm disinterested in him!"

Yukari deadpanned. "You're kidding me, right?"

With a dramatic wail, the brunette flopped onto Yukari's bed and thrashed about, overcome with desperation and guilt. "I'm totally serious! You know how long it took for him to confess to me! I'm the first girl he's ever been with—"

"What about, Mitsuru-senpai?"

Even if it was a joke, a brutal glare from Minako shut her up. "_And_ anyway, I know he's insecure and I don't want to do that to hiiiim!" She grabbed one of Yukari's fluffy pillows and hugged it tight to her chest, imagining that it was the silver-haired boxer.

"You're over thinking things, Minako," Yukari insisted. "But if it's really bothering you that much… I know that he has a match tomorrow."

"How do you know that?"

"He said he can't go to Tartarus tomorrow night. I asked Mitsuru-senpai why and she told me," Yukari answered plainly. Minako sunk down even further into the bed, embarrassed that she didn't know that as leader of SEES. Usually she left those things to Mitsuru and Fuuka anyway… "It's a home match, so it'll be at school."

Minako thanked her best friend for helping her in her hour of need, raced out of the room, and mentally prepared herself for the next night's match. In the end, she stayed up well past her bed time, tossing and turning (surely for unnecessary reasons), and got a full three hours of sleep before deciding to just give up. She spent the rest of her free day sorting through her clothes, asking herself and occasionally Yukari what was appropriate for a boxing match. Minako was so irritated and flustered by four in the afternoon that she very nearly left the dorm in her uniform, until Junpei kindly reminded her that it was a Saturday and that she looked "like those losers who wear their uniforms to sleep." Dressed in a simple red tank top and a white skirt, she raced out of the dorm when she realized that she only had fifteen minutes to get to the school.

She didn't realize how popular boxing (or just Akihiko) was until she stepped into the gym. The stands were filled with people, mostly screaming fangirls, cheering and shouting for their champion who was already in the ring. Sheepishly, she eased into the barely lit gymnasium until she found a free seat in front. Immediately, the girl she was sitting next to turned to face her with a glower. "You're late," she said firmly.

Minako blinked. "Uh? Sorry…?"

The girl narrowed her eyes. "Hm? Aren't you Akihiko-senpai's girlfriend?" Minako actually felt herself break out into cold sweat when the girl scrutinized her, judging her choice of outfit (which paled in comparison to the girl's **AKIHIKO SANADA BOXING CHAMPION** t-shirt).

"Yes!" she chirped, startling her. With a friendly grin — that held undertones of triumph and smugness — she turned her attention to the match.

Again, everything spiraled out of control before she could even understand what was happening.

Akihiko's eyes caught hers.

He paused.

She smiled and waved.

He almost had his jaw dislocated by a hooked punch.

There was a collective gasp around the gym when Akihiko hit the ground, apparently for the first time since the year started. Minako felt her cheeks burning (probably the girl's glare burning into her) and her heart pounding in her chest, even as her boyfriend quickly jumped to his feet. His opponent's victory was short-lived, and in a manner of minutes Akihiko had won the match. Cheers sounded all around her, but Minako wanted to melt into the ground.

_I'm an idiot,_ she thought. _I waved at him! He was in the middle of the match! I'm an idiot!_

Even if he had ultimately won, that whole mess shouldn't have happened. What if she was the reason why he ruined a record or something? She didn't really understand boxing, but it was important to Akihiko, and if she had done something to jeopardize some obscure and unimportant record, then—

"Minako!" She yelped at the sound of Akihiko's voice, and suddenly remembered that she was standing in the locker room. Her senpai stood across from her, still dressed in his boxing garb with a towel hanging around his neck. "I didn't know you were coming tonight," he said, grinning as he moved towards her.

"A-ah, yeah, it was a last minute thing," she murmured. She rubbed the back of her neck and lowered her eyes to the ground. "S-sorry about that, um…"

"No, it was my fault. I shouldn't have let that distract me."

"Still! I mean, if I'm why you broke your concentration—"

He placed his hands on her shoulders, gave them a tight yet affectionate squeeze. "It was my fault," he repeated, "not yours." He pressed a kiss to her forehead, and when he pulled away he was wearing a smile that made her stomach flutter. "And it was nice to have you there, even if you were late," he teased.

Minako tried to mirror his expression, though hers was a bit pained. "Yeah, I, er, had problems getting here."

Akihiko nodded and motioned for her to follow him, towards a bench that held his bag. "You've never come to one of my matches before."

Megumi's words raced through her mind, drilling themselves into her head even as she stood two feet away from Akihiko. He turned to her with a curious look when she didn't respond, causing her to jump up guiltily. "Oh! Yeah, ahaha… Well, I realized that and… Well, I don't know. I thought it'd be a good idea, y'know, to support each other and stuff…"

He blinked owlishly. "I've never been to one of your tennis matches before."

"Yeah, I know, but…" Trying to hide the real reason behind this was a lot more difficult than she thought. It was embarrassing, but there wasn't anything she could hide from Akihiko. "But I just…"

Then he looked genuinely worried, and she felt like the shame was literally going to consume her. "Minako, what's wrong?"

With a heavy sigh, she dropped onto the bench next to him and buried her face in her hands. "Megumi was talking about how she went to all of her boyfriends matches and how all girlfriends do that for their boyfriends and I just got nervous and insecure, okay!?" she wailed, ninety percent of her words muffled by her hands.

"… What?"

She was bright red when she she dropped her forehead against his bare shoulder. "I'm sorry if I suck as a girlfriend," she mumbled.

"That's what's worrying you…? Geez, Minako." He took her by the shoulder again, but this time she felt a jolt when his fingers came in contact with her skin, and forced her to face him. "I just thought you wanted to keep this all separate, you know? We spent so much time together, at the dorm and Tartarus and the days we're both free… I felt like I'd be demanding too much from our leader." They exchanged a slight grin. "And I already feel like I'm clogging up enough of your time."

"That's not true!"

"Maybe," he said, "but still. We both know that you're my first girlfriend," (he blushed and she wanted to pounce him there), "but… You're so much more important to me than that. And I…" His eyes softened, one of his hands brushed against the side of her neck and cupped her cheek. "Well, I don't wanna scare you off."

She exhaled softly. The fear and anxiety that had so overwhelmed her fell to her feet, leaving her feeling slightly embarrassed despite his sweet reassurance. "I guess we still have a lot we need to work out, don't we?"

He leaned forward, so that their foreheads were touching. Her chest expanded with warmth as their gazes locked and breaths intermingled. "We have time."

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

MAYBE I'LL THROW SMUT IN HERE SOMETIME who knows I sure don't.

**xx, **der kapitan


	14. The Fourteenth Hour

_Author's Note__:_

My ultimate goal is to finish this story by the end of this school year, but we'll see how that goes because I'm really bad at upholding my promises (especially when it comes to fanfiction). Thank you to everyone who reviewed, by the way! I always get really excited when new readers read the entire thing in one go ha ha. (Also a lot of you asked for smut…. I'm still thinking about it. Ahahaha, we'll see because I'm not too into writing it.)

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Fourteenth Hour_

* * *

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_Minako was sick._

She'd been caught in the storm and soaked from head to toe, so it was inevitable she supposed. Still, it was embarrassing to have the whole dorm fretting about her condition, especially since she was supposed to be the leader. "C'mon, Mina-tan, what kinda example are you giving when you get sick 'cause you forgot your rain coat?" Junpei asked, teasingly of course, before Fuuka promptly kicked him out. Even if it was a joke, Minako had to admit that he had a point.

Akihiko was the one assigned as her caretaker today. He treaded around her room carefully with a mask strapped to the lower half of his face, medical gloves on his hands, and a pair of prongs in his grasp. "Don't you think you're overdoing it?" she asked through a stuffed nose.

He carefully placed each used tissue in a trash bag with the prongs. "I just recovered from breaking my ribs," he answered. "I can't risk getting sick! I'm in the middle of training."

Minako deadpanned.

He cleaned her room a little more, making sure to use disinfectant on all of her belongings, fluff her pillow, and pick up her empty bowl of soup. "Do you need anything else?"

She sniffled a little as she shook her head. "No…" She trailed off and looked longingly into her large pink cup, which was currently empty. Akihiko, following her gaze, sighed as he picked that up as well with the promise to refill it with hot chocolate. "Thanks, Senpai!"

"Yeah, but are you sure you don't want tea or something?" He frowned when she adamantly shook her head. "C'mon, tea's good for you. Shinji gave me this herbal stuff that's supposed to clear up your sinuses or something." He half thought her head was gonna screw off with the way she was shaking it. "I'm pretty sure hot chocolate doesn't have any remedial benefits. I know it doesn't taste sweet or anything, but tea might help you get better faster."

This time Minako actually stuck out her tongue. "Bleack. No."

He gave in with a sigh; what the leader wanted, the leader got. "Alright, I'll be right back."

She waited patiently for him to return by keeping herself entertained with the newest episode of Phoenix Ranger Featherman R. She always watched it with Ken, but Mitsuru advised against letting him in; since he was younger, he was more susceptible to illness. Minako knew it was for the best, but it still bummed her out a little. Being stuck in her room all day was suffocating and lonely, save for when her caretaker was in.

Akihiko returned in the middle of a climactic battle with a steaming cup of hot cocoa in hand. "Here." Minako blinked up at him helplessly from her cocoon of blankets, which had her arms tucked securely to her sides. "… I'll just put it here." He placed the cup on her nightstand, making sure it was within reaching distance. "Do you need anything else?"

Minako had been bedridden for over two days now. Honestly, she had wanted a break from all the trips they were taking to Tartarus, but it was getting to the point where she'd prefer fighting off hordes of Shadows than lay in bed. She missed being in the lounge area and eating Shinjiro's food and playing catch with Koromaru; she felt like she was drifting on some island of isolation away from the others. "Some company?" she pleaded in a weak voice.

The way he reeled back so quickly brought a pout to her face. "Y-you want _me_ to stay here with you?"

"You're my mom today."

It was playful jesting, but being called "mom" by her made him uncomfortable and thoroughly weirded him out. "Yeah, I guess," he replied, trying to play it cool (and failing), "but you're sick and probably contagious."

"And you're wearing an anti-sick costume," she said, insistent. "_Pleaaase_, Senpai? Just for an hour?" She crinkled her nose, which both irritated him and made him think she looked too cute for someone so physically ill. "You can sit on the chair on the other side of the room and I won't touch you or anything! You guys spray down everything whenever you come in, so it's not like the air's contagious or anything."

"I don't think that's how that works."

She narrowed her eyes, apparently not humored. "Senpai."

Akihiko was determined to fight. Mitsuru warned him that, as SEES leader, Minako was an excellent strategist and topnotch manipulator. She needed to recover quickly, but the others also had to make sure that they didn't catch what she had. She'd already goaded Junpei into playing video games with her for five hours and the capped teen definitely had a cough to show for it. Akihiko didn't like to think of himself as a germaphobe, but he just got back on track with his training!

But then Minako started pouting and sniffling and looking at him with _those_ _eyes_, and he'd be an absolute devil to say no to her.

"Okay," he said, giving in. "Just an hour."

They spent four hours watching reruns of Phoenix Ranger Featherman R.

He slipped out after Minako fell asleep, making sure to tuck her in snugly before closing the door behind him. "What the hell were you doing?" Akihiko actually yelped at the sound of Shinjiro's voice. He tried to look as innocent as possible, but the look in his best friend's face told him he'd been caught in the act. "You've been gone for hours."

Akihiko cleared his throat. "I, uh, was making sure she was comfortable and…"

Shinjiro raised an eyebrow. "And?"

He hung his head in defeat, unable to come up with any excuse.

The brunet merely shook his head. "You're lucky it was me who caught you and not Mitsuru." As he headed back down the hall towards the stairs, Akihiko swore he heard Shinjiro mutter, "You're weak, Aki."

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

There was a request for sick!Minako and mom!Akihiko a couple months ago, so I finally did it! If you have any more requests/theme ideas, just shoot them my way and I'll do my best to fulfill them. :)

**xx, **der kapitan


	15. The Fifteenth Hour

_Author's Note__:_

Ten more chapters to goo! Also, Lent starts today and I'm giving up meat and chips, in addition to writing nice letters to people every day. Hopefully I can make it through. Also also, this week is super busy and I just want it to be over so I can sleep in peace.

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Fifteenth Hour_

* * *

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_Akihiko didn't realize how pathetic he was until he acknowledged that he was jealous of a ten-year-old._

It could be argued that he brought this upon himself, but at the end of the day Akihiko was tired and just wanted to rest. The source of all of Minako's energy was still a mystery to him, and they'd been dating for months now. She was always active, always running around, always finding new friends and spending time with old ones. Most of the time he thought it was endearing, how peppy and friendly she was throughout the entire day, but he had to wonderif she _had_ to spend every night out with Ken.

One evening, he saw her slipping on her shoes out of the corner of his eye. "Hey, where're you going off to?" he asked from his position on the couch. As if on cue, Ken popped out from behind the counter. Akihiko's eye twitched. "Are the two of you going somewhere together…?"

Minako bobbed her head enthusiastically, impervious to his glower. "Yup! We're gonna go to Wakatsu. Ken needs his veggies." Ken's cheeks went ablaze as he quietly protested her announcement, but all she did was giggle and pull him along. "See you later, Senpai. Bye, guys." She made sure to wave to everyone in the lounge before closing the door behind her.

As soon as she was gone, Junpei snickered. "What?" Akihiko snapped, throwing his glare in the underclassman's direction.

Junpei exchanged a look with Yukari and Fuuka, both of who were trying to conceal their own smiles. When it looked like Akihiko was actually going to destroy a piece of expensive furniture, Yukari spoke up. "You, uh, didn't look very… _happy_ about Minako hanging out with Ken-kun."

"I suppose it's understandable since the two of you are in a relationship," said Fuuka, "but at the same time…"

"You're jealous of _Ken_!?" Junpei guffawed, slapping his knee.

Having it put out in the open was more humiliating than admitting it to himself. "I-I am not jealous of Ken," he protested, though without much success. Junpei was on the verge of falling off the chair he was laughing so hard, and even Yukari and Fuuka were starting to chuckle. Akihiko could feel his cheeks turn red from the embarrassment. "The two of them look like they're getting pretty close… Ken probably has a crush on her."

"Well, they've been going out to eat a lot," Yukari said. "A couple of my friends were at Wakatsu the other night and said they saw Minako and Ken; they said he looks like her little brother." That made him feel a little happier. "… But also that he'll probably be really cute when he gets older." That didn't.

Junpei gauged Akihiko's reactions carefully and with obvious amusement. "He's ten," Junpei said plainly.

"But Ken-kun is very mature for his age," said Fuuka. "I can also see how he would develop feelings for Minako-chan. She has a very kind and open demeanor, without worrying about what others think of her. Honestly, I think it's very sweet." After spotting the dismal expression on Akihiko's face, however, she quickly cleared her throat. "Ah, but it's just a crush, of course! Even if he is mature mentally, Ken-kun is just ten, like Junpei-kun said." For some reason, her reassurance did little to actually make him feel better.

"Wow, you're really down about this," Yukari observed. "Maybe we shouldn't look at this from Ken-kun's perspective. What about Minako? Do you think she'd go for someone as young as him?"

The fact that Akihiko even had to think about it had Junpei bursting out laughing again. "You seriously think Mina-tan would go after a _ten-year-old_?" Junpei asked, barely able to put together the words because he was chortling so hard. "Oh God, she's either gonna laugh or punch you…"

"W-wait! Don't tell her about this!" Akihiko pleaded, feeling his stomach drop. "She'll think I don't trust her!"

"Well if you can't trust her with a prepubescent kid…"

"Junpei…!"

Before Akihiko could put his fist into the capped teen's mouth, Fuuka tried to take control of the situation. "Perhaps you should just talk to her if it's bothering you that much," she advised.

"But _how_!?" he asked. Admitting to his girlfriend that he was jealous of a ten-year-old was horrible enough, but then he imagined everything that could go wrong. Relationships shouldn't have to be this difficult or humiliating.

Sensing his growing aggravation, Fuuka slowly got up and tried to ease out. "Ah, just… bring it up and… hope for the best?" She laughed sheepishly before darting up the stairs and towards the safety of her room.

Akihiko fell back onto the couch with a groan. Figuring that he needed some time alone, Yukari also slipped out, but not before yanking Junpei up by his ear. With the lounge to himself, Akihiko mulled over his apparent jealousy and how completely pathetic he felt. He didn't realize how long he'd been sitting there until the door open and in walked Minako and the subject of his current predicament.

"Oh, you're still up, Senpai?" she asked as she took a seat next to him. Her presence gave him a sense of elation — until Ken plopped down on the other side of her.

"Yeah," he said, trying to remain as cool as possible. "I couldn't sleep. … How was Wakatsu?"

"Good! Their vegetables came in fresh today, so the food was better than usual. How was your night?"

The conversation with Fuuka, Junpei, and Yukari replayed in his mind. "Uh… Productive," he answered lamely.

She grinned. "So you got a lot done? That's great." Minako shifted her attention to Ken, who looked like he was beginning to fade. "Hey, maybe you should head up to bed, Ken. It's getting really late and you have school in the morning, you know."

"So do you," Ken replied, his expression nonplussed.

"You're right," she acquiesced with a laugh. "I should probably get ready for bed since we have to get up early." She tussled Ken's hair affectionately and pressed a kiss against Akihiko's cheek; both males blushed bright red. "Goodnight!" She disappeared up the stairs.

"So. Have a good dinner?" Akihiko asked, semi-glaring at Ken out of the corner of his eye.

"It was good," Ken replied. Akihiko was positive the kid was leering at him. "We had a lot of fun."

"Yeah?"

"Yes."

The side-glaring contest went on for another ten minutes before Ken suddenly got up. "Well, I should go to sleep. You should too, Senpai, otherwise you'll upset Minako-san." Ken walked up the stairs with a small bounce in his step.

Ken - 1, Akihiko - 0.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

Ken is actually one of my least favorite characters in P3, but this was kind of fun to write. XD

**xx, **der kapitan


	16. The Sixteenth Hour

_Author's Note__:_

We have a snow day today which means I get to write and be lazy and be warm and then go sledding and make snowmen and it is going to be such a blasty blast.

ALSO HELLO MY BELOVED GUEST welcome back, and I love all you other reviewers as well. You're all so great and wonderful. This is a request from ReachingOutFES, in which Akihiko sees Minako with her hair down for the first time.

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Sixteenth Hour_

* * *

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_He always got stupidly embarrassed when she invited him into her room._

They'd been dating for months now, and it wasn't as though they did _that_ every time he was in there, but it still made his cheeks turn pink and his heart race. He could tell she enjoyed it too, with the way she giggled and squeezed his hand and gave him sympathetic (probably pitying) kisses. Most of the time he sat in the rolling chair at her desk to keep his thoughts (and hands) in control, but today she nudged him onto the edge of her bed.

"W-wha—"

"Relax, Senpai," she said, wearing a teasing smile. "We're up here to relax and take a break, remember? No studying, no talking about Shadows or Tartarus or creepy hippies trying to bring the apocalypse; just relaxing." His shoulders, which he didn't realize were so tense, slackened. It'd been hard lately, especially with trying to balance school with the problems that arose, and it finally occurred to him how tired he actually was. "We can watch a movie or something if you want."

Akihiko nodded and pulled her box of movies out from underneath the bed. "Is there anything specific you wanna watch?" he asks, purposely skimming over the rom coms and chick flicks.

"Nope. Choose at your leisure." While he inwardly battled with the genius of Jackie Chan or one of Junpei's tacky horror movies, Minako sorted through her dresser. "I'm gonna change," she said. In her arms were cotton pajamas with different colored cows on them. "I'll be right back."

He wanted to tell her that she could change in here and he would leave, but she was already out the door. "Okay," he mumbled, more to himself than to anyone else, and continued his hunt for The Perfect Movie. After settling on a classic that they'd watched approximately fifteen times together, he got up to put it in the DVD player. He paused when his eye caught something interesting: a framed photo he'd never paid much attention to before.

It was a younger Minako, maybe twelve or thirteen, in some foreign (probably European) land. She was standing with a group of friends in from of some monument, dressed in a cute sweater and plaid skirt and wearing the grin he'd come to love. Something was a bit different, though he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

Minako came back in, dressed in her beloved pajamas with her uniform folded not-so-neatly in her arms. "Alright, I'm back—! What're you looking at?"

Akihiko jumped up as though he were a criminal caught in the act. She laughed at his frantic reaction, which he tried to downplay by casually holding up the picture. "I was just looking at this," he said. "Where'd you take it?"

She peeked at the image from over his shoulder; he hoped she couldn't feel the warmth radiating from his face. "Oh! That's when I was in Paris. We were on a tour around Napoleon's tomb, so naturally we stopped to take a picture and smile in front of some dead guy's resting place."

"Ah." He glanced down at his Minako, older and beautiful and bright, then at younger Minako who had all the same qualities aside from being older. And then he recognized what it was. "Your hair's down in this picture."

"Hm? Yeah, it is. That's when it was shorter so it was easier to handle when it was down. Now it just kinda gets everywhere…" She idly fiddled with the ends of her hair and mumbled, "Geez, my split ends are getting really bad…" While she played with her hair, he wondered what it would look like now if it wasn't in her usual ponytail. "Welp, what movie did you pick out?"

"Huh?"

Minako raised an eyebrow. "The movie…?"

"O-oh, right." He laughed nervously before naming the movie, at which she squealed and hopped over to press the play button. She bounced onto her bed, pulled him next to her, and set up the pillows so that they could sit comfortably. It was probably a little weird that their cuddle movie was one where Jackie Chan beat the crap of five guys per screen, but he thought it was an appropriate representation of their relationship.

After he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, his fingers found the ends of hair, which brushed against the collar of her top. She didn't seem to notice. _"Her hair's really soft,"_ he thought. It fell out of his grasp when she leaned her head against his shoulder, and for once he felt vaguely disappointed by the motion.

Halfway through the movie, she shifted again, though it was so that she could slide off the bed. "Sorry," she said, her voice quiet despite the fact that both of them new every line to the movie. "I'm gonna get more comfortable." He watched her movements out of the corner of his eye, waiting with baited breath as she pulled out out her bobby pins one by one. Finally, she withdrew the black band from her hair, allowing it to fall over her shoulders and down her back. It wasn't too long, just a little passed her shoulders, but it was thick and auburn and beautiful and framed her face in such a lovely way.

Minako smiled at him when she realized he was staring. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said. "You're beautiful."

She blushed before falling on top of him and burying her face into his chest. "You can't just say things like that," she muttered, her words muffled by the material of his vest. "But thanks, Aki."

As she laid on his chest, he ran his fingers through her hair, allowing them to tangle in the tresses. "You're not supposed to thank me for saying the obvious," he replied. She laughed, which warmed and reverberated through his chest.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

Snow days are my favorite days.

**xx, **der kapitan


	17. The Seventeenth Hour

_Author's Note__:_

Oof, long time no see. Writing has been a little difficult for me lately because I've been swamped with a bunch of other things, but I always appreciate your patience and support. :) This one's a request from our Guest and someone else who I can't really remember off the top of my head…? Anyway, it's with Shinjiro.

Well, kind of.

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Seventeenth Hour_

* * *

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_Today marked three weeks since the shooting._

Minako was smiling more — genuinely, too — which encouraged and brought up the other members of SEES. It was hard to see their leader, strong and bright and full of life, so _broken_. Even if she tried to keep herself together, it was the small glimpses of sadness (staring at the watch, pacing aimlessly in the kitchen, hovering outside his room) that showed how torn apart she really was. Minako always seemed so invincible, but now they knew for certain that she was just as human as the rest of them.

She visited Shinjiro in the hospital about two times a week. Sometimes she'd bring her homework and ask him questions about the math assignment, other times she'd sit down with two bowls of the house special from Hagakure. Mitsuru had gone in one day while Minako was there; the brunette was chattering away, eating noodles and laughing like he was actually replying. Mitsuru saw the tears, but she said nothing and let the two have their time.

It was different for Akihiko. He went to the hospital once, the day after Shinjiro was shot, and that was it. No one was sure what happened, but he'd left the dorm that morning looking worse for wear, and he came back with his shoulders pulled back and his head held high.

Akihiko saw the way her shoulders slumped when she thought no one was watching. The others were upset of course, but he doubted any of them felt the remorse and pain Minako was feeling. They knew him as a strong, silent fighter — she had become his friend. Akihiko still didn't know how she did it, how she got Shinji to open up to her, but the silver-haired male knew that it had given him another reason to keep living. He was in a coma and barely breathing, but he was still alive, and Akihiko was sure that wouldn't be the case if it weren't for Minako.

One night he caught her lingering outside Shinjiro's door — again.

"Hey," he greeted, his voice soft.

She jumped despite the hallway being completely lit and the fact that he was right in front of her. She'd been pulled deep into her thoughts, a state she was usually in these days. "Oh, hey," she replied. The corners of her lips quirked upwards, but in a way that felt forced. Akihiko could easily distinguish her smiles now. "Um, what are you doing here?"

"My room's on this floor," he said. Both of their eyes darted towards the closed door that had his name plate nailed onto it. "I was thinking about getting some studying done. Tests will be coming up soon, you know. You should probably hit the books, too."

"Yeah, you're right." She laughed, though it was shrill and incredibly uncomfortable. "I guess I just…" She tried to find some excuse, but it was pointless; both of them fully knew why she was here. Minako gave in with a sigh, her body slumping and her eyes closing, looking incredibly tired. Akihiko had never seen her look so defeated or vulnerable. It gave his heart a painful tug. "Sorry."

He stepped towards her, closing the space between them. She didn't take a step back like he expected her to. Contrarily, Minako stood completely still, desperately wanting and needing someone who understood. Akihiko understood better than anyone else; he was (_is_, she reminded herself) Shinjiro's best friend.

"Don't apologize," Akihiko said, placing a hand on her shoulder. Immediately he felt the tense muscle underneath her jacket. "Why are you saying sorry?"

"I shouldn't be acting like this. It's not…" She bit down on her lip before shaking her head. "It's not right."

"Why? Because you're the leader?"

"Yeah."

Everyone loved Minako, on the team, at school, and around the city. She was vibrant and cheerful and sociable, and everyone wanted to spend time with her. Akihiko had to wonder, though, how much they knew about her as a person. She helped out others and listened to their problems, but what about her? What did she feel every day? What were her problems? Maybe if she hadn't been put in this leadership position, more people would know. Maybe she's been suppressing everything because she's been terrified of letting everyone down.

_ What a rough way to live,_ he thought.

Akihiko brought his free hand up to her other shoulder and squeezed both softly. "You don't have to do that with me. We can be honest with each other, right?" The sharp look she gave him was momentary, but strong enough to make him wince. He hadn't been honest with her for months since their last outing, so maybe he wasn't in the position to be giving her this talk. "I mean…"

Minako smiled softly. "I know, Senpai. … Thanks."

He nodded, realized the nearly intimate position they were in, and quickly retraced his hands. (He could have sworn he saw her giggling.) Akihiko noticed, after a short period of silence, that her attention had shifted to Shinjiro's door once more. "Have you gone in?" he asked after a moment of deliberation.

She shook her head. "No. I've been too scared to." She reached up and played with the ends of her hair, a nervous habit of hers he'd picked up on. "I mean, I see him at the hospital a lot, but… it's kinda different, you know? It just feels so much more final. Like… Like I'm cleaning up and he's never coming back."

"Maybe you've been over thinking it," he suggested.

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. "You think?"

"Yeah. You're looking at it like it's closure. But Shinji's alive, Minako," he said, like it wasn't the most obvious thing in the world. "And I know he'd be angry if he knew any of us were skirting around his room 'cause we were afraid. You also have to remember that it's just _stuff_. Shinji's alive; that's enough."

Minako's lower lip started to quiver, and for a moment Akihiko feared that she was going to cry. "You're right," she said, weak and shaky. "You're totally right. Shinjiro-senpai would totally say that." Her laugh sounded more pained than joyful. "I can just imagine him looking at me all pissed off… You know, that way he always glares at everyone? I tried to copy it once, but I'm pretty sure I just looked constipated…"

He didn't know why he did it — maybe it was because she was rambling and he was scared or because he saw that she was trying so hard to be okay — but his hand reached out and took hers. She looked up at him in mild shock. "Let's go," he said.

"Go…?" Minako took in a deep breath, and he felt her fingers squeeze his. "Okay."

Akihiko pushed open the door, but both of them walked through at once. He noticed that she remained close to his side the further they walked into Shinjiro's room. "It's still the same, basically," she murmured. He wanted to ask how she knew what it was like before, but Akihiko was smart enough to know that neither his heart nor his head could take it, so he remained silent. "Like he didn't even really move in."

"I don't think he was expecting to stay as long as he did."

"Yeah."

She led the way towards Shinjiro's desk. On it was a simple cardboard box, filled with his armor and weapons. Shinjiro was never a much-y person, so it didn't surprise Minako or Akihiko that they didn't find any photographs or anything.

"What should we do with it?" Minako asked. Her eyes were glued to the large axe that he wielded in battle. "I mean…" She bit down on her lip as she held back the first thought that ran through her mind: _He doesn't need it._

"Maybe we could sell it."

Minako's jaw dropped open, and she nearly whacked Akihiko for the suggestion. "Sell it!?"

"These are just things, Minako," he repeated, quietly. "Things that take up space."

"But…" But Akihiko was right. She could never use anything as heavy as the axe, and aside from Junpei (who was deeply attached to his swords), no one else on the team used heavy weapons. Still, if she could just keep it, like in her room or something…

_Things that take up space._

She'd just be filling a hole with things. They were things that would remind of Shinjiro, but they'd always just be _things_; they would never live up to the original. They would never actually be Shinjiro — who was alive. He didn't need the axe or the armor, and neither did she.

"Minako?"

Akihiko's voice drew her from her thoughts once more. She held his fingers tighter in response, then offered the most sincere smile he had seen all night. "You're right," she said, sounding stronger and confident. "I'll take these down to the police station tomorrow and see how much I can get for them. Besides, I think Shinjiro-senpai was saying the blade was getting rusty anyway."

He chuckled. "Yeah, he was always throwing that thing around like nobody's business."

They settled into a comfortable silence, neither quite wanting to share memories about Shinjiro just yet. Doing that seemed inappropriate, especially since he was still technically alive.

Then, Minako gave his hand a slight tug, and he looked down into her bright red eyes. "Thank you, Akihiko-senpai. I really needed this and I, um… I'm just really glad it was you," she said. (He managed to convince himself that she wasn't blushing and that his heart wasn't pounding painfully against his rib cage.)

"Y-yeah," he replied, "of course. I… We can be honest with each other. About anything."

The way she looked at him made him want to fall over. "Right," she said, this time grinning cheekily. "Anything."

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

I am purposefully being ambiguous about Shinji and Minako's relationship because 1) I am an ass and 2) I don't need anymore unnecessary and painful feels.

**xx, **der kapitan


	18. The Eighteenth Hour

_Author's Note__:_

I definitely didn't finish this by the end of the school year like I'd hoped, seeing as how I'm actually out of school right now. But hopefully by the end of this summer, when things are less hectic, ha ha.

Thank you to everyone for your supportive and wonderful reviews. My dedication to fanfiction has definitely wavered and gone down, but you do inspire to keep on writing. This was a request for a prom-like theme, froooommm… I can't remember, but you're obviously wonderful.

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Eighteenth Hour_

* * *

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_Minako had been asked to her first dance when she was fourteen._

It was to a simple high school homecoming dance, when she was still going to school in the United States. The boy who asked her was nervous and mousy, a friend of a friend of a friend, who sat in the back of her math class and had a huge crush on her. She got dressed up, had her hair and nails done, went to dinner with her friends. The dance itself wasn't particularly memorable — too many bodies in a crowded space with bump'n'grind music, dollar store decorations, sweat and yelling and general discomfort. When he dropped her off at the end of the night (in his mother's minivan), her date kissed her cheek and tumbled off the porch into her aunt's beloved petunia bushes.

Secondary schools in Japan don't host dances like homecoming or prom, and most of what students know about dances comes from movies. After the cancellation of the Cultural Festival, however, the students of Gekkoukan High demanded a form of retribution: a high school prom. Minako's experiences with dances weren't too great (though they weren't horrific either), so honestly she hadn't minded the fact that she would probably never go to another one in her lifetime. After 75% of the school petitioned and got both the Student Council and the administration to agree to it, however…

"I'm so excited!" Yukari said, clapping her hands together cheerfully. "You know all those American movies about high school, how there's always a prom and something romantic and big always happens?"

"Yeah, those are _movies_, Yuka-tan," Junpei snickered. "I bet someone'll screw it up."

"Alright, Mr. Pessimism," she replied, rolling her eyes. She turned to Minako, who was pulling on her outside shoes. "You've been to one of those dances, right, Minako? I saw a picture of you with a group in your room, where you're all dressed up and your hair's curled."

"I've never seen that picture," Junpei muttered.

Minako ignored him (and the hint that he'd never been in her room). "Yeah, I've been to a couple. It's pretty fun, I guess. We'd go out and eat before, then go to the dance, sometimes do something after…"

"You're doing a really bad job of making it sound pretty fun," he remarked.

"It's not really like you see it in the movies," she explained, smiling apologetically towards a crestfallen Yukari. "I mean, yeah, people usually go with dates—"

"Did you have dates?" Junpei interrupted.

"Yes. And—"

"Every time you went?"

"Yes—"

"What were they like?"

Yukari smacked the capped teen, trying to get him to shut up. "Quit interrupting, Stupei!"

"They were nice," she said as she readjusted Junpei's hat for him. "Anyway, yeah, people usually go with dates, but nothing big happens. I mean, they're usually already together or they're just going as friends or whatever. Honestly, I had more fun eating at dinner than I did at the actual dance…"

She didn't miss the way Junpei's eyes fell to her flat stomach. "That's because you have a black hole for a stomach, Mina-tan."

"I can't help if I love food," she said, pouting. "Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that people are dancing too close together and they get all sweaty and my hair falls out, which sucks because I spend too much time on it, and all this stuff."

As she released a heavy sigh, Yukari promptly looped an arm through hers and pulled her close. "You're not going to try to wriggle your way out of going, are you?" she asked with a frighteningly sweet smile. "Because we're all going as a group." Yukari immediately shot Junpei, whose mouth was only halfway open in protest, down with a glare. "The whole dorm! Except for Ken, since he's too young, and Koromaru obviously… Hmm, maybe not Aigis, either. I bet if she saw some guys trying to dance with you she'd shoot them down."

"You're gonna convince the whole dorm to go?" Junpei asked skeptically.

"Yes," she stated with the utmost confidence. "Fuuka will totally be up for it, Mitsuru-senpai _has_ to be there since she's on Student Council, and Akihiko-senpai… I don't know, he doesn't really seem like the dance type, does he?"

"If Mina-tan goes, he'll definitely go," he murmured, though it was loud enough for Minako to hear. She delivered a swift kick to the back of his knee, nearly knocking him onto his face. "What!? Geez, I was just stating the obvious… You guys are 'together,' or whatever. He's not gonna let you go with someone else. You know, he'll probably go to make sure other guys don't try to dance with you."

Minako blinked. "Is Akihiko-senpai the jealous type?"

Both Junpei and Yukari deadpanned. "He gets jealous of _Ken-kun_," Yukari stated.

"I just thought they were having fun…"

Yukari flicked her wrist dismissively. "Okay, we're missing the point again! You should ask Akihiko-senpai to go with you."

"Well, it's usually the guy that asks the girl," said Minako.

"And when were _you_ ever conventional?" Yukari retorted.

The brunette paused for a moment. "Fair enough."

* * *

Akihiko definitely wasn't the dance-going type. Minako wasn't totally sure what the prototype for typical dance goers was, but Akihiko definitely wasn't it. Plagued with this dilemma, she paced back and forth in front of his room for a good fifteen minutes — before she decided it wasn't worth it and she couldn't do it. She scurried down the hallway, back towards the stairs, when his door suddenly opened and his head poked out. "Minako?" he called. His voice stopped her in her tracks. "Was that you in front of my door? I thought it was Junpei again…"

"O-oh, yeah," was all she could say, followed by a shrill nervous laugh. "I, uh, thought I might have left my sweater in your room and..." The confusion on his face and the redness of hers increased proportionately. "Well, I don't really need it right now. I can just come back and—"

"Minako?"

She exhaled a heavy, exaggerated sigh and hung her head in defeat. Minako now had a developed sense of sympathy and understanding for every guy who had the courage to ask her to a dance. "So I know it's not really your thing, and you were probably hoping to go to Tartarus or something anyway, but there's a dance this Saturday after school and... Well, you know, since we're dating and all, people are kinda expecting us to go... together," she finished lamely.

When Akihiko began awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck the way he always did when he was feeling uncomfortable, Minako resigned (with some bitterness) to the fact that she was just rejected by her own boyfriend. "Mitsuru did talk to me about it," he said. "She basically expects all of us to be there, but I was hoping I could get out of it..."

"Yeah, I can see that," she replied, unsure of what else to say.

He dropps his hand and tried to catch her eyes, but she was too busy glaring holes into the ground. "Do you really wanna go?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Yukari really wants to go, and I guess Fuuka does too. They wanted to get the whole dorm to go in a group, which is what I usually did when I was still in the States, but... Well, if you don't wanna go I'm not gonna force you or anything. Guys usually wear slacks and a nice shirt and a tie — I mean, you dress nice usually, so that wouldn't be a problem, but _gah_ that's not the point." Minako clasped her hands behind her back and grinned up at him, without fully meeting his gaze. "You really don't have to go if you don't want to, Senpai."

Her response did little to clear up his confusion, as evident by the crinkle in his brow. "So... you do really wanna go," he concluded. Akihiko had never been a very good reader of women, but he liked to think that he learned _something_ while dating Minako. Whatever she was saying conflicted with her body language. "I don't mind, Minako," he said, taking a step towards her. "I mean, I don't even really know what we're supposed to do at a dance, but if it'll make you happy..." He took her chin in one hand, tilted her face so that gray could meet red.

The way her eyes lit up made him want to kiss her on the spot. "Are you sure you're not just agreeing because you're afraid of being executed by Mitsuru-senpai?" she teased.

The corner of his mouth twitched. "Yeah, that might have something to do with it, too." While she giggled, he stole a quick glance around the hallway (still empty save for the two of them), then back into his room. "By the way, I think you did leave your sweater here. You should take it back with you."

Minako cocked her head to the side. "Huh?"

Akihiko said nothing more as he pulled her in by the chin, lowered his lips to hers, and closed the door behind her.

* * *

The prom preparation began as soon as school let out. The girl's immediately locked themselves away in Mitsuru's room at Yukari's insistence ("No boys allowed!"), leaving Junpei and Akihiko to get ready on their own. "What do you think they're doing in there?" Junpei asked as he hung a black tie around the collar of the his blue shirt. "I passed by earlier and there was a lot of yelling."

Akihiko shrugged. "Whatever girls do to get ready for these things." He turns to his closet of red and white, dimly wondered if Minako ever got bored with color palette, then reached for a red button-up.

"I'm jealous," Ken stated with a pout. "Why can't I come?"

"'Cause you're still an elementary school student," Junpei replied. After looking at himself in the mirror, he scowled and tossed the tie onto his bed. "And no kids allowed!"

"I'm not a kid," he muttered.

Akihiko finished buttoning up his shirt and tucked it into a pair of black slacks he found hiding in the back of his closet. "You're probably not missing out on much. The only reason why I'm going is because Minako asked me." He finished off with a white tie, then headed into the hallway, where Ken was still moping against the wall. "Uh, we can try to bring you back a souvenir or something?"

"They hand out souvenirs at dances?" Ken asked.

"I don't know. I've never been to one."

"We'll all take a group picture and frame it for ya, Ken," Junpei said, albeit with a snicker. He poked his head out of his room and his grin immediately fell into a frown. "Akihiko-senpai, what are you doing?" Sighing, he disappeared back into his room and began rummaging around.

Akihiko looked down at himself, then at Ken. "What?" Ken shrugged.

Junpei emerged — dressed in a royal blue shirt, navy blue tie, black slacks and matching shoes — with a black vest and tie. "You look so mismatched it's throwing _me_ off. As Mina-tan's best friend, I am here to fix you." Before Akihiko could protest or even attempt to get away, Junpei ripped the white tie off his neck, replaced it with the black one, and slipped on the vest. "There! Now you look worthy. You're welcome, Senpai."

"I never took you for being fashion conscious," Akihiko muttered, adjusting the vest.

Junpei noticed the upperclassman dubiously eyeing his beloved cap. "Hey, wherever I go, the hat goes. It's a fashion statement."

"We're ready~" sang Yukari's voice from the floor above.

"Took them three hours to get ready," Junpei murmured.

The girls all came down at once, all looking pretty and dolled up, but Akihiko's eyes remained glued to his girlfriend's form. Minako was dressed in a flirty orange cocktail dress and dark heels that accented her long legs. Her hair was released from its usual ponytail, curled and hanging over one shoulder with a white flower for decoration. He didn't realize he was still staring until she was right up in front of him, fixing his tie. "You look nice," she said, wearing a mirthful smile.

"Y-you too," he replied lamely.

Minako laughed and did a little cursty. "Why, thank you!"

"Not missing out on much..." Akihiko heard Ken mutter in the background.

"We should head down to the lobby," said Mitsuru, who was fiddling with the jeweled ornament in her curls. "The limo will be coming around soon."

Junpei's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Limo? We're taking a _limo_? Alright, now this is what a high school prom should be!"

As the others rushed down the stairs, careful not to trip on heels and dresses, Minako lagged behind in order to link her arm through Akihiko's. "See? It's gonna be a lot of fun," she said, giving his arm and affectionate squeeze.

"Yeah," he replied, his eyes never leaving hers, "definitely."

The limo took them to Hagakure, which was both embarrassing and a once in a lifetime experience. Dinner was as eventful as dinners with the SEES members usually was, aka Junpei pissed off Yukari, Yukari made a scene, Minako egged on both of them, Aigis (who Minako convinced Mitsuru to let come) threatened every male (who wasn't Akihiko) who got too close to Minako, Mitsuru had to file official apologies to the owner, etc. By the time they left, the rest of the customers were cheering for them to get out.

"I feel like we shouldn't go back there for a while," Minako whispered to Akihiko as they slid back into the limo.

"Aigis, you can't threaten to shoot people," Fuuka advised. "A lot of people don't take it seriously, but that man looked terrified when you raised your hands at him..."

"He was encroaching on Minako-san," Aigis replied calmly. "He could have been an enemy."

"Can't your sensors detect that...?" Yukari asked.

"It was my intuition," she said.

"In any event, we may need to refrain from public SEES dinners," Mitsuru said, more to herself than to anyone else.

They arrived at the gates of Gekkoukan High School at eight o'clock, right on time. Students were already filing into the gym for the dance, many of them couples who were hand in hand. "Alright! Time for Junpei the Master Dancer to get his boogie on!" cheered an excited Junpei as he jumped out of the limo. "Set phasers to stun!"

"You're freaking me out," Yukari stated, deadpan, though she followed him anyway.

Everyone went in suit, once again with the only couple falling behind. "Are you excited?" Minako asked, looking up at Akihiko.

"Nervous is probably the better way to put it," he replied, pulling at his tie. He missed the airiness of his v-necks.

"Well, don't be." She latched onto his arm, causing the heat to rise to his cheeks. Even if they'd been dating for months, public displays of affection were difficult — but definitely not unappreciated. They were just something he still needed to get used to. "I'm just glad you're here with me. Maybe this'll be my best prom yet, hmm?"

"Were your other dances fun?"

"Well, you definitely have a lot to live up to," she teased. "Especially my dates."

His eyebrows rose, as if had had been legitimately challenged, and he dropped her arm in order to firmly secure his around her waist. "If you're challenging me, then I accept."

Minako blinked owlishly at Akihiko, surprised by the response, then laughed. "That's the spirit, Senpai. If it'll get you off on a better foot, I can let you know that you're already doing a very good job." Her head rested against his shoulder as he curled his arm to pull her closer. "Thanks again. For coming."

"Stop thanking me," he murmured against her hair. "I want to be here. For you."

"You're really good at this whole romantic talk, Aki," she said, pressing her cheek against his shoulder so that she could look up into his eyes. "Have you been practicing in the mirror again?"

His face burned in embarrassment. He hadn't found out until recently that Minako had access to the cameras placed in all of their rooms, which meant that she saw, among other things, his attempts to woo the mirror after the Yakushima trip. "Come on, I thought we forgot about that," he plead. "Can we not...?"

She giggled and nuzzled his arm. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. You know I think you're adorable."

"I don't know if most guys want to be called 'adorable'..."

Almost every Gekkoukan student was present at the dance. There was a small ring of girls in the middle dancing, while others hung out along the sidelines and at the snack/punch table. Upon squinting and getting a little closer, it was observed that Junpei was in the middle of the dance circle, though the others were no where to be seen.

"So this is a dance," remarked Akihiko.

"Mhmm," she hummed in response. Minako maneuvered around him in order to slip her hands behind his neck. Akihiko spluttered, taken off guard and completely unsure what to do, but she simply took his hands and placed them on her waist before linking her fingers back behind his neck. "You just sway," she said, smiling warmly. "Move your feet a little— Ow, okay, a little. Maybe not at all. Just... just move a little, like this."

"Sorry," he said, looking down at the foot he stepped on mournfully.

"It's just a flesh wound," she joked. "Don't worry, you'll become a pro in no time. Who knows? Maybe even Junpei will help you out."

His eyes quickly darted to the mentioned underclassman, who was currently doing a very poor rendition of Michael Jackson's famous moonwalk. "Nah, I feel like you're a better teacher for me." He leaned forward slightly so that his forehead rested against hers.

A song with an upbeat came on, but they continue to sway around in smaller circles. "I think you're my favorite date so far," she said, pressing herself up so that she could kiss his cheek.

"So far?" he asked as he pulled her closer.

Their bodies pressed together intimately, her lips hovered near the shell of his ear. "Depending on how tonight ends, you could be number one."

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

INNUENDO!? Who knows, I sure don't.

Thank you for your patience because I'm lazy and writing is hard these days.

**xx, **der kapitan


	19. The Nineteenth Hour

_Author's Note__:_

The Shirakawa Boulevard scene is here by popular demand, though I'm gonna try a route that isn't too raunchy, haha. I read somewhere (correct me if I'm wrong; though I try to be well-versed in Japanese culture I've never actually experienced it save for some touring and shopping) that before two people have sex in Japan, they shower. Sooo, here you go, you perverts. (Just kidding, I love you all, you know that.)

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Nineteenth Hour_

* * *

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_Embrace your desire_

_I am the voice of your inner self_

_Enjoy the moment_

_That which cannot be felt is merely a dream_

_The present is all we have_

_The future is but a fantasy, memory a fabrication_

_Let your desire free you fromyour shackles_

_Such is my wish_

_Pleasure is what you truly want_

_You stand before the doorway to bliss_

_You cannot deny your instincts_

_Embrace your desire_

It was nothing more than a haze, but it felt right. _Right...? Isn't there something I have to do?_ Her head swam and her thoughts rushed passed her, never lingering for too long. Her consciousness was lost in some dark sea far away, but the mouth pressed intimately to her collar bone nipped and licked and anchored her body to reality. _Reality? This isn't a dream? Is this right...?_ An unexpected moan bubbled from her throat, dispersing the thoughts of concern once more. Did it really matter if this — _What is this?_ — was real or right or wrong?

"Minako..." The masculine voice rose to her ear, humming softly against it. She murmured something (_what?_) in return, used her limbs to press herself more fully against the hard body, moved her lips against his skin. "Minako," he groaned. Two large hands pried her away by the waist, and she dimly remembered looking into a pair of gray eyes. "I'll go take a shower," he murmured, lips tracing her jawline. "I'll be back."

The material beneath her bunched up and shifted as the presence departed. As he left, so too did the thick fog that encompassed her memory and mind. It was as though she was resurfacing, parting the water that stifled and held her down. The room around her began to take shape and color, her surroundings became more familiar, and her senses became more aware.

Minako sat up with a start, but her head ached. _Ow..._ _Okay, there was definitely something I needed to do..._ A spark went off in her mind, forcing a sharp intake of breath. Voices clawed at her mind, tried to push her back under the water and suffocate her. _No, no, there's definitely something I need to do... I can't, I can't... Now now!_ She didn't even know what she was protesting against (the memories were somewhere in the back of her mind, barely repressed), but she shook her adamantly and clawed through the fog that threatened to over take her.

_pit pat pit pat pit pat pit pat_

_ What's that...? The shower?_ Minako tried to push the distraction away when the voices returned. _Embrace your desire...? No, not now... I don't have time for that. The others are... The others are waiting... The others?_

The _pit pat pit pat_ came to a stop just as the fog fully lifted. Memories of the mission, of Yukari and Junpei and Akihiko who were with her, of the mirrors and the Shadows came flooding back, and Minako jumped to her feet. "Oh shoot! The mission!"

Just as she darted for the door, another door leading to the bathroom thrust open and out came Akihiko— dressed in nothing more than a towel. (Minako actually had to press hand to her nose to make sure it wasn't bleeding.) "Hey," he murmured in a sensual tone that sent shivers running up and down her spine (for a number of reasons). "It's your turn." She looked into his hazy eyes, and the repressed thoughts and memories were unleashed: his lips, her lips, their bodies pressed _too _closely for people who were just friends. A mixture of despair, regret, anger, and embarrassment whirled in her stomach as she tried to keep herself from falling over.

The moment her mind cleared up, so too did his. His gray eyes widened in shock in realization, and his cheeks darkened. "W-what the hell!?" he yelped, stepping away from her. He didn't realize his towel was slipping until he noticed Minako's eyes trailing downward, and he grasped at it in desperation with another shout of surprise. "What's going on here!?"

Minako buried her face in her hands and felt the heat radiating from her cheeks. "Just put your clothes on!" she said.

"Y-yeah," he breathed, "you're absolutely right." Sweating and muttering to himself, he raced back into the bathroom, leaving Minako to wallow in her self-pity and shame.

_Oh, I can finally reach you._

Minako jumped at the sound of Fuuka's voice, as though she were afraid that their teammate had seen everything. _Oh God, oh God..._ What about Junpei and Yukari? Had _they_ seen everything? Where were they? Were they involved in this too? _No, no, I don't remember them... No, oh God, oh God..._

_... Minako-chan? Akihiko-senpai? Can you two hear me?_

"Y-yeah, I can hear you," Minako replied, finally able to pull herself together to answer. She hoped Fuuka wasn't too aware of the shaking in her voice.

_I'm sorry I couldn't contact you sooner._ Good — that meant she hadn't seen or heard anything. _The Shadow was interfering with your thoughts..._ Oh God, maybe she did know. _And you all got separated... The enemy is still in the same room. Please regroup and hurry there._

"Okay."

_Akihiko-senpai,_ Fuuka called with more urgency. _Can you hear me?_

"Y-yeah!" he shouted from inside the bathroom. "Loud and clear!"

_Um, did something happen?_

_OH GOD_, _she knows!_ Minako wailed inwardly, thumping her forehead against the wall. "N-no—"

"Alright." Akihiko quickly exited the bathroom, fully dressed in his uniform and SEES gear. "Let's go." Though he was standing just a foot away from her, Minako couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes; she tried to focus on his vest and how distorted the red color looked in the lights.

"Yeah, okay," she murmured.

Before she could get out the door, he gently grasped her by the upper arm. "Minako," he murmured. She noticed that it was completely unlike the way he said her name before. "Um," he began, with a pained expression, "and about what happened earlier... Could you keep it a secret? Please..."

Something about that stung, for some reason. She wasn't proud about what had just happened (_I had no control over what I was doing!_), but was it really _that_ embarrassing? Maybe he just didn't want Mitsuru to find out. "W-well yeah, of course," she replied, drawing her arm away. "Um, we should get back. Yukari and Junpei are probably waiting for us."

"Yeah. Yeah, of course." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and gnawed on his lower lip. Minako waited for him to say something more, but he just sighed to himself and walked passed her, out the door.

* * *

"Hey, Minako." Akihiko greeted her in the hallway during lunch a week after the Shadow battle on Shirakawa Boulevard. "Are you doing anything later?"

She pressed her lips together, debating her answer. He'd done an extravagantly good job at avoiding her after the _incident_, which managed to not only bring up questions from the others but also thoroughly piss her off. Sure, the whole thing was awkward and uncomfortable but they were supposed to be friends, and he just made her feel more awkward and uncomfortable by ignoring her. "I don't know," she said eventually, folding her arms across her chest. "Maybe."

He looked genuinely surprised by her attitude, and she couldn't help but wonder if he was really that dense. "Oh. Um, well..."

"You haven't wanted to spend time with me for the past week, so why now?" she asked.

"Ah..." His cheeks turned pink, and while part of her wanted to gush at how cute he looked, the other held steadfast in her resolve to make him feel bad. "I'm... I'm sorry about that, Minako. I just... I needed to think and I didn't really know... Well, I didn't really know how to talk to you about it. It was..."

"It was...?" she pressed.

He looked around, made sure that others were in their own conversations and there were no eavesdroppers, then quickly pulled her aside into a corner. "I've never done something like that before," he said finally, his eyebrows drawn together in pained embarrassment. "I mean, that's never happened to me. And, well, you're our leader and my friend," (her heart swelled at him calling her his friend), "and... Well, it's just..."

"Ignoring it isn't going to make it go away," she said, though with a smile. "It happened. There's nothing we can really do about it, you know?"

Akihiko scratched his head, lowering his gaze to the ground. "Yeah, I know. Still, it's..."

Minako laughed, not at him, but at the situation and how ridiculous it all was. "It's weird, I know. I mean, I definitely didn't expect that to happen... Well, I mean, I guess it _was_ in a love hotel on Shirakawa Boulevard so I probably should have expected it a little bit..." She sighed, then took a hold of both of his hands; both pretended it was the static shock that raced up their fingers at the contact. "Don't worry about it, Senpai. It shouldn't get in the way, you know? ... And don't worry, I won't tell anyone else and embarrass you."

"W-wait," he said, giving her hands a squeeze to keep her in place. "I didn't ask you to keep quiet because I was embarrassed of doing that with you. It's just..." He started blushing again. "You know how Junpei gets. And Mitsuru would—" Ah, so Mitsuru did have something to do with it. "Well, she'd probably execute me."

"And we can't have that happen, now can we?" she asked teasingly.

"I'd prefer it," he said.

"Well, your secret's safe with me, Senpai. Don't worry about it, okay?" She squeezed back, then pressed herself up on her tip toes to give him an innocent kiss on the cheek. (Though it was still enough to get his heart racing and his palms sweating; he hoped she didn't notice.)

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

We are almost in the twenties which means this is almost done which is both exciting and sad at the same time. Exciting because I've been writing this since my freshman year of college (I'm almost a senior, holy jamalama!) and sad because I love you all and this has been so fun to write. Buuut we still have six more to go, so no tears yet, haha.

**xx, **der kapitan


	20. The Twentieth Hour

_Author's Note__:_

Sometimes my P3P replays go really quickly and get kind of boring because Minako and the rest of the party are so overpowered. I don't even really read the dialogue anymore because I've played it so many times, haha. Maybe I should pick up P4 again... (But I still need to finish Assassin's Creed 3 ugh my life.)

Here's Theo because you all love and requested him and because I love him and he's totes adorbs.

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Twentieth Hour_

* * *

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_Minako was really popular with the boys._

Akihiko was oblivious to many things, including his own romantic feelings that halted his relationship with the SEES leader for a solid three months, but he wasn't a complete idiot. He saw the looks she got when she walked down the hallway, when she went to the shrine, when she went shopping around the city, and even when the two of them were together and the idiots thought he couldn't see. He couldn't blame them since most of the residents of Tatsumi Port Island loved Minako, but he could definitely still hate them.

He'd been worried about Junpei at first, since the two were so close and spent so much time together. The rumors got to him even if she adamantly denied them and Junpei said she was just his best friend (his really cute best friend). Akihiko's fears faded slowly though, as he and Minako started spending more time together, and they went away completely when Chidori came into the picture. Besides, there was something completely unromantic with the way they shoved their feet into each other's feet when fighting over the last ramen bowl.

Hidetoshi Odagiri might have thought he had a chance with Minako, but he was dead wrong. He was just some punk with authority, and Akihiko could never understand why Minako would willingly spend time with him. They never hung out outside school grounds, all he talked about was some stupid cigarette butt in the bathroom, and approximately ninety-five percent of the student body hated him. Also, the smug way he'd grin whenever Minako went to Student Council instead of to Hagakure with Akihiko made the boxer want to punch his face in.

The French kid was weird and definitely had a crush on Minako, and Akihiko kind of felt bad for him because he apparently had no friends before she joined his Fashion Club. Bebe didn't have ill intentions (Akihiko doubted he was capable of them), but it was still irritating when Minako started practicing French at the dorm. He wasn't sure if it was because he couldn't understand anything she was saying or if it was because she was spending so much time with the blond.

Ken was ten and basically harmless, and Akihiko was still trying to convince himself that he wasn't _actually_ jealous of an elementary school student. (He was.)

If there was ever a topic he skirted around with Minako, it was Shinjiro. He didn't know what their relationship was, if it was anything beyond friendship, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. Shinjiro was (_is_, he had to remind himself often) his best friend, but Akihiko loved Minako. Akihiko never pushed it and she never brought it up, so he decided to leave it where it was. (It was both embarrassing and hard to admit that his greatest competition could be a man in a coma.)

The green devil bounced around on his shoulders when he saw how close Minako was with these guys, but he tried to not let it get to him. "I love _you_, Senpai," she'd tell him everytime she saw the look in his eyes. And he believed her because 1) he loved her back and 2) what did those guy have that he didn't?

Akihiko was pretty confident in himself and in his relationship with Minako. So he liked to think anyway.

He was on his way back to the dorm when he saw his girlfriend firmly attached to some strange blond man by the hand. He observed from far away for a moment, trying to decide if that was really Minako or not, and if the guy really was having as hard a time with the escalator as it seemed. Eventually they made it down, with Minako looking a little unsure and amused at the same time. Wearily, Akihiko confronted the duo.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Oh! Hey, Senpai!" she replied, grinning brightly. "This is..." She turned to the man, who Akihiko realized was dressed like an elevator attendant. Seriously, where did she _meet_ all these people...? Akihiko had been living on Tatsumi Port Island for years and he'd never even seen half the people she hung out with. "This is Theo. Theo, this is Akihiko."

Theo released Minako's hand and bowed deeply, which only served to make Akihiko feel more uncomfortable than he already was. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you. Minako speaks very highly of you, so it's quite the honor to meet someone who is so valued by our guest."

Akihiko turned to Minako and mouthed, "Guest?"

She laughed and patted Theo's arm, like he was telling some kind of joke. "Oh, Theo. He's just very formal." Akihiko found that hard to believe for some reason. "He's new to the area, so I've been showing him around."

Theo nodded affirmatively. "That is correct. I've been learning much on these dates."

Akihiko's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Dates!?"

Why wasn't Minako freaking out? Why did she look so calm? _Why was she going on dates with strange blond men in weird clothes?_ All these thoughts and more raced through Akihiko's mind as she softly said something to Theo and patted his arm. Suddenly, Akihiko grabbed Minako's hand and pulled her towarsd him. "You're going on dates with this guy?" Akihiko asked, his voice hushed. "But we're... I thought we were—"

Minako's eyes widened in realization. "_Oh_. Oh Senpai, no!" She gave his hand a small squeeze as she smiled. "They're not those kind of dates. Honestly, Theo and I are just friends. He's... Well, he's not from around here, obviously."

_Obviously,_ he thought, eyeing the admittedly handsome individual.

"I mean, we've been calling them dates, but like friend dates, you know?" What the hell was the difference between friend dates and date dates? Akihiko made a mental note to inquire Junpei about this later. "Last time I took him around Paulownia Mall, and he wanted to see the station today."

"Your city is magnificent," chimed in Theo, who didn't look the least bit guilty (and therefore infuriated Akihiko). "There are so many incredible sights to see, and I've been truly grateful to Minako for showing them to me. The fountains and escalators are especially wonderful."

While Minako shrank away a bit, Akihiko stared blankly at Theo, waiting for the punch line. It took only a moment for Akihiko to accept that he was being absolutely serious. "Where are you from again?" he asked, genuinely curious about the land where escalators and fountains didn't exist.

Before Theo could answer, Minako clapped a hand over his mouth. Akihiko twitched at the contact; he knew his mind wasn't making up the blush Theo was now wearing. "Very far north, near Greenland, you know. It's hard for them to keep fountains 'cause they freeze, and elevators are, uh, expensive." Theo nodded, but Akihiko wasn't convinced. "Which is why he's here, to try something new!"

"Yes, this place is much different than my place of residence," Theo confirmed once she removed her hand.

"Huh," was all Akihiko said.

"Well, time continues to tick in this world, and I believe it might be time for me to return to mine," said Theo. While Minako smiled (it looked a little watery), Akihiko was trying to decide if this guy was for real or not. "Will you be accompanying me, Minako? Or..." He turned his gold eyes to Akihiko, who felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise.

"I'm gonna head back to the dorm with Senpai. Will you be okay on your own?" she asked.

Theo nodded. "Of course. I'm not so foolish as to forget the way back. Until next time, Minako. Have a splendid day, Sir." He bowed one more time to Akihiko, then headed back towards the escalator. (Akihiko noted with some amusement and gratification that he nearly stumbled onto his face while trying to get onto the first step.)

"Well then," said Minako, still holding onto Akihiko's hand, "should we go?"

"Huh? Oh. Yeah."

They were halfway back to the dorm when Akihiko finally stopped and yanked her back. "Who was that guy?" he asked.

She blinked. "What? You mean Theo—?"

"Some guy from 'the North, where escalators and fountains don't exist because it's too cold and expensive'? Do you seriously think I buy that?" Minako watched his face, the way his brow furrowed and his lips tilted downwards. He was really upset. "It's not like I don't trust you, but you've never hidden anything from me before. I know you're friends with a lot of guys, and you've never had to lie about them. Who is this guy? Are you—" He cut himself off before he could finish the sentence.

Minako raised an eyebrow challengingly, suddenly looking ready for a fight. She'd always been good at reading people; she knew what he was going to ask before it even formulated in his mind. "Am I _what_, Senpai?" she demanded. He noticed that she released his hand. "What, huh?"

_Shit, I've pissed her off,_ he thought dismally. _Wait, I should be the one pissed off! I'm justified here!_ "You know what, Minako," he replied as cooly as he could. "What's so special about this guy that you have to make up weird stories for him? What are you doing with him?"

"I'm showing him around the city! He's—"

"Not from around here, yeah, I know. But you're acting like..."

"Like what?" she snapped.

He hesitated. "You were just acting very secretively. I've never seen this guy before, Minako. You've never talked about him before."

Minako planted her hands firmly on her hips. "Just say it, Senpai."

Now he was confused. "What?"

"Just say it," she repeated.

"Say what?"

She exhaled heavily. "You think I'm cheating on you."

For some reason, that struck him. Maybe it should have occured to Akihiko that that was a possibility, that she was cheating on him with this strangely-dressed foreigner with nice hair and exotic eyes. That's what any normal guy would have thought, seeing his girlfriend holding hands with another male. And yet, even if it had been swimming in the back of his mind, it hadn't jumped out at him as being the obvious choice. "No," he said. When she scoffed and made a move to leave, he quickly grabbed her wrist and repeated, this time more firmly, "No, I don't. Minako, I... I trust you."

"You're making it really hard for me to believe that," she said, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm just..." Sighing, he released her and began rubbing his temples. "I've dealt with Odagiri and Junpei and Ken—" ("Ken?" she asked, though he ignored her) "— but never a... a Theo. It just really took me by surprise, I guess."

Her expression softened, but only slightly. "If I didn't do anything with those guys, why would I do anything with Theo? Akihiko, I'm dating _you_."

"I know," he replied, sounding anguished. "I know. I guess I'm just... Damn, I don't know."

"Jealous?" she offered.

He grunted, refusing to actually use the accursed word.

Minako's shoulders, hunched from anger and irritation, relaxed as she stepped towards him. "Theo knows we're dating, Senpai. I told him. He would never try anything."

"Yeah, that's what you said about Odagiri and Bebe," he grumbled.

"Hey," she said, "you have fangirls following you around everywhere. I have just as much of a right to be suspicious and jealous, okay? But I'm not because I know you wouldn't do anything like that to me. I kind of expected the same."

The disappointment in her tone made his chest hurt. "Minako." Their gazes caught with some difficulty. "I guess... I'm not as confident as I thought I was. I thought I'd gotten over it, how all these guys like you and how everyone wants to hang out with you all the time. But I'm not. There's always gonna be some part of me that's afraid of losing you. I've never really had a constant in my life, Minako, and I just... I get scared."

She sighed softly before leaning in to rest her forehead against the exposed skin of his collarbone. "I'm not gonna leave you, Aki."

The statement was so simple, but the way she said it — soft, but with conviction — lifted the anxiety pounding his chest and the dread sitting in his stomach. They stood like that for a while, silent and barely touching, but the most intimate they've ever been. Finally, he said, "Not even for golden-haired, exotic men from the north?"

She laughed, and the action reverberated through his chest. "Hmm, maybe."

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

This got kind of serious in the end and I didn't really mean it to? Oops.

**xx, **der kapitan


	21. The Twenty-First Hour

_Author's Note__:_

I have been listening to Demi Lovato's new CD non-stop for the past week, and while that's kind of embarrassing to admit she is just so wonderful and inspirational and I love her so much. Go listen to her because she's the best.

_Anyway_, this is a request from TarePanda11, in which Akihiko and Minako go on a walk with Koromaru. (P.S. I love all of you for reviewing and being generally wonderful.)

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Twenty-First Hour_

* * *

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_Minako was trying to find some way to reach out to Akihiko._

Something (she wasn't really sure what) had gotten in the way of their growing friendship, and after their last outing at Hagakure he wasn't very enthusiastic about spending more time with her. Whenever she approached him in the first floor laboratory hallway, he'd stutter and make up some excuse before she could even ask him if he was free. It was confusing, irritating, and pretty hurtful; she couldn't figure out for the life of her what she had done to put him off. (_Maybe I shouldn't have called him charming,_ she thought one day. _He probably had a mental breakdown or something because he couldn't decide what I meant._) But Minako was patient, because she was understanding and a leader, and leaders had to know how to deal with emotionally constipated teenagers.

Of course, that was also approximately a month ago, and her leader's patience and understanding was wearing thin.

"I'm not trying to be nosy or anything," began Yukari, in a tone that suggested she was indeed trying to be nosy, "but what's up with you and Akihiko-senpai? You guys used to hang out together a lot. Did something happen?"

Minako shrugged, trying to come off as nonchalant, as she flipped through one of Yukari's fashion magazines. "That's a good question. Why don't you ask him, hmm? I mean, one second he's telling me I shouldn't fight, then that I'm a great leader, then that watching me fight makes him nervous. He comes up to me in the hallway in the middle of lunch and asks me what I'm doing after school, but they he runs the other way when he sees me after. But nah, I don't think anything happened. No biggie." Yukari quirked an eyebrow at the the hitch in her voice.

"I feel like your sarcasm is lethal enough to take out Shadows," Yukari remarked. Minako grinned humorlessly.

Koromaru pawed over to Minako and nudged her, whining quietly. "Hmm, what's up, Koro-chan?" she asked, reaching down to scratch him behind the ears. "Ah, do you wanna go for a walk?" Koromaru was a good dog for a number of reasons (being able to summon a Persona and fight Shadows definitely made him unique), and he very rarely made a fuss. Minako noticed that he only got antsy when he'd been cooped up inside for too long or when Yukari was approaching him with burnt leftovers. "Well, I'm not gonna get any homework done tonight, so I'll go. Wanna come with, Yukari?"

"I would, but I really need to get work done on this book report," she replied, mournfully looking down at the unopened novel on the table. "I put it off for too long."

Minako stuck out her tongue. "Boo, bummer." She scanned the lounge, searching for someone to accompany her on a chilly Fall walk, until her gaze landed on one unsuspecting upperclassman. _"Perfect."_ Minako barely concealed her grin as walked over to the couch and carefully clapped her hands down on Akihiko's shoulders. "Senpai!" she chirped, looking awfully innocent. "You don't look like you're doing much right now!"

Akihiko yelped at the contact, and as he slowly turned, he swore he was looking into the eyes of a (well-disguised) demon. "O-oh, uh, I guess so..." He looked down at his hands which were, sure enough, empty now that he'd put down his instant noodles. He gulped upon seeing the glint in her eyes (and he was ninety percent sure it wasn't due to the faulty lighting). "What are you up to right now?" he asked bravely.

"I was about to go walk Koro-chan," she said, in a way that was so sweet that he could only believe that foul play was involved. "But I don't wanna go alone."

Her comment definitely sounded like a command, and from the way Mitsuru was trying to contain her laughter, Akihiko had to acknowledge it as so. "Ah, I see," he replied, both reluctant and fearful. "Why don't you ask—"

"You should come with me." The way she said it was incredibly reminiscent of the way she gave out orders in Tartarus.

Akihiko looked around for someone to save him, but they were either too caught up in their own worlds or they were blatantly ignoring him. When Koromaru came around the couch to lightly nudge his leg, Akihiko gave in. "Yeah, alright." Though he tried to sound confident and act like he was totally doing this of his own free will, deep down he (and literally everyone else in the lounge) knew that he was acquiescing mainly due to intimidation. _"She smiles like an angel, but those are the ones to watch out for,"_ he thought as he followed her out the door.

Just before the door closed, he could clearly hear Junpei say, "Alright, who wants to make bets on if Senpai gets back alive or flayed?"

Minako didn't attack him right away, though he remained poised for defense in case she would. She barely acknowledged him as she skipped down the road, with Koromaru barking excitedly and dancing around her legs. "I bet it's nice to finally get out and get some fresh air, huh, boy?" she cooed, stopping in the middle of the road to crouch down and affectionately and scratch his neck. "It's getting all stuffy in the dorm these days." She definitely shot Akihiko a look with that last statement, though she barely gave him a second to dwell on it before she was up on her feet and back on the path. "Mmm, the shrine always looks really pretty at night."

No matter what route or path taken, Koromaru's walks always ended up at the same place: Naganaki Shrine. Despite the occasionally bad meals, Koromaru seemed to really love life at the dorm and was attached to all who lived there. Still, he was deeply loyal to the priest, even now, and they understood that.

Koromaru ran up to the prayer box, as though to pay his respects, while Minako and Akihiko remained in the playground. "Koro-chan's a really good dog," said Minako as she leaned against the jungle gym. Akihiko hummed in agreement, though he just awkwardly stood in the sandbox, silently refusing to get any closer. While deeming him more than slightly ridiculous, she also couldn't help but laugh. "How are you doing, Senpai?"

The question struck him as oddly calm for someone who was (rightfully) irritated with him. "Good," he answered. "Things are pretty busy, but I'm good. What about you? You're not feeling too pressured about school and Tartarus are you?"

"No, I'm fine." He swallowed when she smiled enigmatically at him. "It is a little hard, though, trying to juggle Tartarus and schoolwork and having a social life. Mitsuru-senpai asked me why I stopped going to Student Council meetings, and I tried to tell her I wasn't doing it on purpose, but I still think she took it personally." She sighed heavily, though he had a feeling she was trying to be theatrical. "And then there's tennis and the library committee..."

"Do you ever feel like you're doing too much?" he asked, cutting her off.

She looked legitimately taken back by his question, and when she smiled it was soft and demure — the smile that made his heart stop and run a thousand miles an hour all at once. "Sometimes," she admitted, "but I never regret it. I mean, I'll probably complain about it a lot, but I love doing all those things. It doesn't really have to do with the activity or the club, but I've made a lot of really good friends through them."

"Like Odagiri?" Akihiko scoffed.

Minako laughed. "_Especially_ Hidetoshi-kun. He told me he liked me, you know."

Akihiko suddenly had this overwhelming urge to sneak a million cigarette butts into the boys' bathroom. "Yeah?" he asked, trying to play it cool.

"Yes, it was very sweet," she continued. "But he also said that he didn't want an answer or a response because he didn't feel like he was worthy yet. He'd ask once he became a better man." As she nudged at the sand with her foot, he noticed a fond smile on her face. "I thought it was kind of silly — the whole 'not worthy for me' thing. What does that even mean?" When Akihiko didn't answer, she went on: "People are always worrying about whether or not they're worthy enough or good enough for someone else. They're worried about their extra baggage or their past. I can kind of understand that, but is it worth throwing the relationship away?"

Akihiko began to sweat despite the cold autumn breeze. Somewhere along the course of this conversation, they'd gone from talking about self-entitled Disciplinary Committee leaders to him. "I don't think it's really throwing the relationship away," he said, surprising both of them by speaking up. "It's pretty reasonable to be held back by things like that. Maybe some people are just so used to losing things that they're afraid to lose anymore." He and Minako made strong eye contact; her gaze told him that she knew he was talking about himself, and there was a sense of understanding that made him blush and duck his head once more. "O-or in Odagiri's case, he's never had anything like that — feelings and love — so he doesn't really know what worthiness is."

"I think the concept of worthiness is stupid," Minako concluded.

Akihiko chuckled. "It's a little different when you're on the other side."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Just that... Well, you have a lot of admirers, Minako." She shrugged, neither denying nor admitting it. "And for them it's like... Well, if so many like you, who actually deserves you?"

She wrinkled her nose in distaste at the description. "You make me sound like some kind of trophy."

"Ah, sorry," he said, ears turning pink. "I just mean that they'll compare themselves to each other to try to figure out who you like and why. It's just... I don't know. Each one is trying to figure out who's worthy of you and who's not."

His reaction was a blank stare. "I still don't get it."

Koromaru, finished with the night's visit, trotted back over to the duo. "Ready to head back, Koromaru?" Akihiko asked, to which the dog nodded and nudged his heel. "Alright, alright, let's go." As they walked back to the dorm, Akihiko glanced at Minako out of the corner of his eye and noticed her pensive expression. "Don't worry about it too much," he said, interrupting her thoughts. "You have plenty of other things to juggle."

Surprisingly, she grinned. "Oh, don't worry. You cleared up a lot of things for me, Senpai."

This time he was the one blinking in confusion. "I did?"

"Mhmm." She tugged on the sleeve of his jacket before they entered the dorm, keeping him outside on the steps. "If you need some clarification, I'm right here, okay?" His breath hitched and his heart leaped as he struggled to keep eye contact. He nodded, though it was heavy, and she flashed him a million-watt smile. "Good. I don't want there to be any misunderstandings between us. Goodnight, Akihiko-senpai."

He didn't even realize she had gone inside until Koromaru barked at him. "Damn," he muttered, running his fingers through his hair. "Are you having any girl trouble, Koromaru?" Koromaru barked again, though Akihiko heard the pity behind it. "Hm, lucky... Keep it that way. Your life's a lot easier without it."

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

Less Koromaru and more Minako/Akihiko/all the boys that love her, but that's okay.

**xx, **der kapitan


	22. The Twenty-Second Hour

_Author's Note__:_

I took like a three hour nap today because I was bored, which means that I basically got nothing done. Oops.

This one wasn't a request, but something I really wanted to do because I just maxed out Shinji's social link on my current playthrough, which means a lot of feelings. (I still really don't know who I ship more — Akihiko/Minako or Shinjiro/Minako. Life is rough.) Once again, thank you for all of your support and reviews! :)

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Twenty-Second Hour_

* * *

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_The night before the October 4th full moon, Shinjiro took Akihiko out to eat._

It wasn't strange, especially since it was at Hagakure (a long time favorite between the two), but Akihiko sensed that it wasn't just another one of their dinners. Shinjiro looked more tired than usual, with heavy bags under his eyes, his tan face several shades lighter, and his body slack. Shinjiro was always alert, always ready to react or to take on the next thing that came, but something was different. He was more solemn, almost... sad?

"C'mon," Shinjiro grunted, noticing the way Akihiko was watching him. "Eat up. Your noodles are gonna get cold."

"Oh, ah, right." He continued to steal glances at Shinjiro out of the corner of his eye as they ate in silence. Akihiko tried to read his best friend, to understand the situation and what was going on, but Shinjiro had always been talented at keeping things hidden. Part of him had to wonder, even if he was with SEES now, if Shinjiro was still taking those pills. "The full moon is tomorrow," he said. "So another battle with one of the big Shadows is coming up. Do you think you're ready?"

"What the hell kinda question is that?" Shinjiro replied, nonplussed. "I've been goin' to Tartarus with you guys for the past month."

"I'm not questioning your strength or training," Akihiko said quickly, spotting the fire in Shinjiro's eyes. "Hey, I'm the one who pushed Minako to fit you into the line-up, didn't I? I know your power better than anyone." Shinjiro 'hmph'ed in response and shifted his attention back to the house special. "I was just wondering how you're doing... otherwise."

Shinjiro raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Akihiko gulped, unsure of how to proceed. Obviously the pills were still a sensitive subject to them both, but it wasn't something he could ignore, especially if it was still affecting Shinjiro's health. His endurance was great considering and he could fight battle after battle in Tartarus, but Akihiko noticed that he was often panting and trying to catch his breath when they moved up in the tower. Everyone else was amazed by the way he wielded his axe (and truly it was something to admire), but Akihiko knew Shinjiro for too long to dismiss the fact that his pace wasn't as strong as it used to be. "Are you... Are you still taking those pills?"

The noodles dropped from Shinjiro's chopsticks. "I told you I was done with them," Shinjiro said, struggling to keep his tone even. "I haven't taken 'em since I came back, alright?"

"I trust you," Akihiko said. "You just..."

"I'm not fighting like the way I used to?" he concluded, to which Akihiko nodded. "It's the long term effects. I'd been takin' 'em since I left two years ago, so obviously my body's still recovering. I came off of 'em pretty quickly, too." Shinjiro coughed, which didn't help his case, but he glared at the silver-haired boxer to keep him from saying anything. "Anyway, like I said, I'm fine. To be honest, training with you guys and pushing myself probably wasn't the best idea, but you don't gotta worry about me."

"I know, but I do anyway." Though Shinjiro rolled his eyes, Akihiko smiled. Despite everything that happened — the orphanage, the fire, Miki dying, Ken's mother's death and Shinjiro's subsequent departure — they were here, together. He still wished he could find a way to ease Shinjiro's guilt (because he could still see it, especially when Ken was around), to make him see that yes the accident happened but that it didn't need to define him. Two years ago, Akihiko firmly believed that everything had changed, but tonight they were eating ramen at Hagakure like they had in the past. (_"Maybe I am too attached to the past,"_ he thought idly.)

While Akihiko was lost in his own thoughts and memories, Shinjiro finished up his dinner. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"What?" Akihiko asked, mouth full of noodles and broth.

Shinjiro looked mildly disgusted, but continued anyway. "You let your emotions get the better of you, you're reckless as hell, and you have this stupid problem where you act before you think."

_"What the hell,"_ Akihiko thought, deadpanning. _"Did he seriously ask me to come here so that he could list all my negative qualities?"_

"... need to get a better handle on how you deal with new information you don't like. Hey, are you listening to me?" Akihiko flicked his wrist at him dismissively, earning a low growl. "Damn, this is exactly what I'm talking about..." Sighing, Shinjiro leaned forward onto the counter and raised his fingers to his beanie. "You've been naggin' at me for not takin' better care of my physical health, so I'm gonna throw it right back at ya. Take care of yourself, and take care of the rest of the team, too. They all look like they're strong, especially now that there are so many of you guys, but just the smallest thing..." He winced, and Akihiko could see the memory of his Persona losing control flash behind his eyes.

"Shinji—"

"This ain't about me," Shinjiro said, cutting him off. "I want you to make sure that the rest of 'em will be alright. But... don't forget about yourself, either."

The conversation was taking a turn for the somber, which did little to ease Akihiko's earlier worries. "Okay," he replied, unsure of what else to say. "What's bringing this on? Did something bad happen?"

Shinjiro didn't answer right away, but the question added years of fatigue and weight to his already heavy shoulders. Akihiko could feel his heart pound in his chest as Shinjiro rubbed at his eyes. "You should be happy, Aki," he said, sounding old and tired. "I don't want you to look back on these days and have any regrets. Sometimes things happen beyond your control, but you gotta do what you can and roll with the punches. You're a crybaby and you piss me off most of the time, but you've always been good with that."

"Shinji..."

"And take care of Minako." The mention of their leader's name awoke something else in Akihiko, something that he couldn't quite describe. The way that Shinjiro said her name — earnest, kind, with admiration and fondness (love?) — raised questions that Akihiko wasn't ready to ask. "She's a tough one, stubborn and bull-headed as hell, like you. But she knows how to make people happy. She can make them smile without trying." Shinjiro's own smile was an answer in and of itself. "But she'll lose herself if she keeps trying to make others happy. She needs to focus on her own happiness."

"I think being with other people _is_ what makes her happy," said Akihiko.

"And it breaks her every time she has to say goodbye." Shinjiro was alluding to the little girl who moved away, the librarian who transferred to another school, the foreign exchange student who returned to France, the terminally ill patient who died — but Akihiko had a feeling there was something more behind his statement. Shinjiro knew something, whether it had already happened or it was going to happen. "Take care of her, Aki."

"You can take care of her, too," Akihiko said, unaware of the desperation in his own voice. "You're here now, aren't you? You take responsibility, too. All of us will."

It looked painful when Shinjiro laughed. "Yeah, I'll do what I can. But I can't really make her happy. I can't really protect her. You know how Minako is; she's independent, thinks she can do anything and everything on her own. She doesn't need protection, but she deserves it. She's off leading a group of teenagers and a robot and a dog into some tower of darkness, so she can take care of herself. But she needs people, or just someone, to fall back on."

After a moment's silence, Akihiko began with, "Are you and Minako..."

But he never finished his question, and Shinjiro never pursued it.

"Sometimes we look at her like she's invincible," Shinjiro continued, as though Akihiko had never said a thing. "And sometimes I think _she_ thinks she's invincible. But she's still just a teenager, just a student and a normal girl. We don't take advantage of that when we should, and neither does she. She's just as bad as lookin' after herself as you are. Honestly, both of you are pretty good at pissing me off."

"Sorry," Akihiko replied, merely for the sake of saying something.

"Hm. You guys are a pain." Shinjiro was still clumsy with expressing affection, but Akihiko could sense it behind his insults and harsh words. He was glad that Shinjiro was no longer alone, that he had other people to confide in other than him. For the first time in years, Shinjiro was legtimately happy. "Let's head back. The mission is tomorrow, and we don't put everyone in jeapordy because we stayed up too late and got tired."

They paid for dinner before heading back to the dorm, side by side. "It's almost done, you know," Akihiko said, as the almost-full moon hovered above them. "Everything we've been fighting for up to this point. The Dark Hour will be gone, and things'll go back to normal, the way they're supposed to be."

"The way they're supposed to be, huh? I wonder what that's like."

"Well, you'll get to find out soon."

Shinjiro directed his cough to the side, managed to keep it well hidden from Akihiko who was still rambling away about normalcy and a world without Shadows. "Yeah," he muttered, all to himself, "maybe you guys will."

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

Shinjii whhHHyy!?

P.S. I remember when summer break was fun and I looked forward to it, but now I'm just bored out of my mind help save me.

**xx, **der kapitan


	23. The Twenty-Third Hour

_Author's Note__:_

I'm in a kind of foul mood and I'm planning spending my Memorial Day sitting around playing video games to attempt to get myself out of this foul mood, but I won't take it out on you guys because I love you and you make my days brighter.

Here's a request from bishounens, who asked for jealous moments of Minako. I've been making Akihiko the ambivalent jealous boyfriend throughout this series, so I figured it was time she had her share, ha ha.

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Twenty-Third Hour_

* * *

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_Minako was definitely _not_ jealous of Mitsuru._

Yes, the upperclassman was beautiful, intelligent, popular, had super smooth skin. powerful ice skills, and a sophisticated wardrobe — but there was definitely nothing to be jealous about. Mitsuru was her fellow SEES member and a friend, and harboring feelings of jealousy wouldn't help anyone. So what if she and Akihiko were pretty close, and so what if she seemed to know Minako's boyfriend better than she did? Whatever. No big deal. Definitely not a problem.

One night, when they were in the lounge, Yukari asked her, "Is something bugging you?"

Minako's reply was a quick and snippy, "No."

Yukari and Junpei exchanged a look of disbelief (and amusement). "Are you sure, Mina-tan?" Junpei asked carefully. "You've been kinda... uh, on edge lately." Minako threw a heart-pounding glare in his direction, sending him flying over the couch for safety. "N-nevermind!"

While Minako directed her heated glower to the magazine in her hands, Yukari couldn't help but snicker. "I'm not sure what's up, but whatever it is, it's got you pretty bad."

Minako fiddled with the edges of the pages, debating on whether or not she should face the problem head on. On one hand, it'd probably be a lot healthier to just get it out in the open rather than dealing with her suppressed frustration. On the other hand, that would mean having to admit that she had a problem, and Minako was still strongly embedded in that stage of denial. Back to the other hand, Yukari used to be super suspicious of Mitsuru, so she _would_ be a good ally. (And Junpei was morally obligated, as her best friend and right hand man, to be on Minako's side no matter what.)

After interally debating for a couple moments, Minako shyly raised her eyes and said, "Okay." Yukari looked incredibly pleased with herself, whereas Junpei (with good reason) only poked his head over the head of the couch. She quickly scanned the lounge, making sure that it was just the three of them, before continuing. "So... What do you guys know about Mitsuru-senpai and Akihiko-senpai? I mean, like, beyond their past and stuff."

The way Yukari lifted one eybrow told Minako that her fellow female already knew where this conversation was going. Minako ducked her head, feeling her cheeks burn in embarrassment. "All I really know is that they were the first members of SEES," Yukari answered. "So obviously they've known each other for a pretty long time."

Junpei (bless his heart), was as oblivious as ever. "Y'know, I always thought they had a thing. I mean, not now 'cause he's dating you," (he laughed awkwardly while she deadpanned), "but back before I had a Persona and the first couple of months after I joined. They just looked super close."

"Well duh they're close," Yukari replied. "It was just the two of them and Shinjiro-senpai before the rest of us came along. And then Shinjiro-senpai left, so it was just the two of them in this dorm for a while." This conversation was definitely doing the opposite of making Minako feel better about her situation. Sensing that this was the case (and the fact that her face was absolutely sullen), Yukari patted her reassuringly on the shoulder. "B-but you don't have to worry or anything! I mean, he's dating _you_, right? If the two of them wanted to date, they probably would have done it a long time ago, don't you think?"

Junpei stroked his goatee thoughtfully. "I dunno, Yuka-tan. Mitsuru-senpai doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd admit she likes someone... And Akihiko-senpai is socially awkward, so there's no way he'd talk to her first. If they did like each other, I doubt they'd ever bring it up 'cause— OW!" Tearfully, he tended to spot where the edge of the book hit him, then glared at Yukari. "What the heck? What was that for!?" Her gaze was sharp as it shifted to Minako, who'd sunk further into her seat. Finally realizing his blunder and the situation at hand, Junpei winced. "I mean, yeah. But that was definitely in the past. There's nothing going on between them now."

"Nice cover up, Stupei," Yukari remarked. "Anyway, it doesn't matter what they were in the past. I mean, if they _were_ anything, even. 'Cause you guys are together now, and Mitsuru-senpai definitely isn't the kind of person to hit on another girl's guy."

"Yeah, can you really see Mitsuru-senpai being 'the other woman'? She's every guy's first pick— OW! Sorry..."

"I guess," Minako acquiesced. She looked far from convinced or reassured, though. "They _have_ known each other for a long time... But for some reason, I always thought that if she needed something, Akihiko-senpai would drop everything for her, you know? That's cool because they're best friends, but I'm still kind of stupidly jealous about it? I don't know."

"That's understandable," Yukari agreed. "Jealousy doesn't always make sense. Besides, do you think he'd drop everything for you if you needed him?"

"Yes," she answered without a hitch.

Yukari looked genuinely impressed. "Well, then you shouldn't be worried."

"Though," Junpei cut in, "if he's treating a friend the same way he's treating his girlfriend, maybe you should— OW! Dammit, Yuka-tan, you're gonna give me a concussion!"

"Then stop talking!" Yukari slapped a hand to her forehead, reminded herself to give Junpei a lesson in how to talk to girls (because Minako was ultimately a girl, no matter how many Hagakure bowls she could eat in one sitting, and Junpei tended to forget this fact), and clamped a hand on Minako's shoulder. "Look, Minako, we can't really tell you what to do. I mean, I'm single by choice and Junpei's single because... look at him," (his jaw hung open, offended), "but Akihiko-senpai's a case on his own. Just talk to him. And if it's really bothering you that much, you should talk to Mitsuru-senpai."

Minako grimaced at the mental image of confronting Mitsuru about anything, let alone her jealousy. She couldn't imagine the entire thing working out well; for good reason, Mitsuru would probably be really offended. "Ehh..."

"That, or you can just bottle it up and wait for it to explode," Yukari reasoned. "That could be fun for the rest of us."

Minako legitimately contemplated it (confrontation just required so much _work_), but remembered that the last time that happened one of Akihiko's fangirls was sent to the nurse and she got a detention. "Okay, you have a point," she muttered.

* * *

"... It's just that I've known him for such a long time... Perhaps he's just maturing."

"Does that make you happy?"

"Of course that makes me happy. With all we've been through, it can be difficult to get over our pasts. However, Akihiko is trying to learn from his experiences. I'm very impressed by him. When I look at Akihiko, I'm reminded of so many things about myself. I can't explain why, though..."

"Are you in love with him?"

"In love...?"

Okay, maybe she should have come up with a more strategic way to tackle this problem, but Yukari was helpless, Junpei just floundered around, and Minako was running low on time (and patience). She and Mitsuru had been spending more time together outside of Student Council and Tartarus, so Minako figured, "Sure, why not?" What better time to talk about boys (one boy) than girl time? Of course, she could have also phrased the inquiry to be a little more inconspicuous, but...

Mitsuru smiled mirthfully. "No, it's not that." When Mitsuru looked at her, she jumped in her skin. "Does it appear that way to you, Arisato?"

It almost sounded like a challenge, the way she asked it, but Minako attributed it to her subconscious trying to paint Mitsuru as the villain. She shook her head, not wanting to make an enemy out of the Kirijo heiress. "Ah..."

"You can be honest with me," Mitsuru said, hiding her chuckle behind a perfectly manicured hand. "I do not wish to come off as a threat, and I certainly have no intentions in doing so. Akihiko and I are close, yes, and we do have history, but as friends. Or should I say teammate? I can't seem to find the correct way to describe him. In any event, that is the extent of our relationship. No less, and certainly no more."

Maybe, Minako thought, it wasn't Mitsuru she didn't trust, but her own feelings of insecurity. Mitsuru was earnest enough, and Minako didn't expect the redhead to lie to her, especially not over something like romance. Realizing this, she couldn't help but blush. "Sorry, Senpai."

"Please, don't apologize. I'm glad I could clear up any doubts. I will admit that I can be protective of Akihiko, but that's because, as you know, he can be rather reckless and I am fond of him. I believe..." She trailed off, contemplating which words to piece together. "I believe that the two of you make a good couple. Not that you need it, but you have my approval."

"T-thanks," Minako replied, unsure of how else to respond. The goal had been to corner Mitsuru and demand that she keep her paws off Akihiko, but in the end Minako wasa the one who felt like a fool. _"Damn jealousy. ... I'm gonna blame this on Yukari and Junpei. I knew I should have just kept it to myself."_ Sighing, she prodded at the leftover takoyaki in her lap. She was a firm believer in the power of food, so she handed it to Mitsuru as a peace offering. "Here, have another one."

"O-oh! Um, thank you, Arisato... I'm not sure if I can finish this, but if you insist..." Admittedly, it was fun watching her always put together upperclassman nearly choke on a steaming piece of takoyaki, and Minako felt a little better about herself afterwards. They headed separate ways, with Mitsuru needing to tend company matters, so Minako returned to the dorm. For once pleased to see that the lounge was empty, she fell back on the couch and closed her eyes.

Several hours later, the sound of the door opening and closing drew her out of her deep sleep. "Good morning, beautiful," Akihiko teased as she was still groggily sitting up. He pressed a chaste kiss against her forehead after taking a seat on the arm of the couch. "How long have you been out here?"

"No idea," she mumbled, absentmindedly wiping at the drool on the corner of her mouth. (If Akihiko saw, he pretended not to notice, which she appreciated after she realized what she'd done.) "Did you just get back?"

"Yeah. Practice went a little longer than usual..." He trailed off, and she leaned her head back to see what was bothering him. He didn't look perturbed or thoughtful; contrarily, he wore what she'd identify as a smarmy smirk. "By the way, I ran into Mitsuru on the way back here."

_"Oh shit."_ Her body froze, but she quickly recovered with an innocent smile. "Yeah?"

"Mhm." He slid down so that he was sitting right next to her. For once, she did not get the warm and fuzzies from him being so close to her; she felt unease. "You know, Minako..." Though she tried to scramble away, he was quick, and one arm was around her shoulders while his hand tilted her face towards him. "From what I hear, most guys aren't into girlfriends who get jealous, but I'd say..." His lips moved towards hers, so that they hovered only an inch away. "It's cute on you."

God, he was using her own words against her. "Senpai!" she shrieked, smacking him in the chest.

Akihiko couldn't help but laugh, even if his girlfriend was glaring at him. "Come on, Minako, me and Mitsuru?"

"Oh sure, when you say it like that, it _sounds_ crazy," she muttered, embarrassed and ashamed all at once. "Can we please just forget about this?"

He moved towards her again, cornering her between himself and the couch's arm. "Well, now you know what it's like."

"Uggh, I won't ever make fun of you for being jealous again," she whined, squirming underneath him.

"Promise?" he asked with a grin. Though it was with a pout, she nodded. "Alright, promise."

He swooped down to seal the deal with a swift kiss that apparently wasn't swift enough, because the door opened and Mitsuru passed by with a, "Not on the couch, Akihiko." Though she continued up the stairs without a second glance their way, the couple sat on opposite sides of the couch, both red in the face and heads lowered in shame. Minako inwardly sobbed over the power of Kirijo.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

I just finished my 58495 playthrough of P3P, which still made me sad even though hello I know what's going to happen and who's going to say what. Gaaah maybe I'll go replay P4... Or just some more FIFA.

**xx, **der kapitan


	24. The Twenty-Fourth Hour

_Author's Note__:_

This one's a request from a couple of people, who wanted something smuttier. (You pervs.) It's not full because 1) I'm not sure how comfortable I am with writing super explicit sex and 2) I don't want to have to change the rating of this story for one chapter. This is also the final chapter that will cover "past events" between Minako and Akihiko.

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours  
**a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Twenty-Fourth Hour_

* * *

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

* * *

_It was different than usual._

Minako had been in Akihiko's room a number of times, whether it was to watch movies, do homework, or just talk; it wasn't the forbidden threshold that everyone (ie., Junpei and Yukari) told her it was. She'd sit on his bed and he'd sit in the chair at his desk, sometimes they'd switch it up, and sometimes she'd just lay on the floor. She never felt uncomfortable or awkward, and even though he turned red every time he invited her over, Akihiko didn't either. Sometimes she'd just stop by because she didn't want to do anymore homework in her room and the lounge was too crowded. If anything, his room was a refuge.

That's what it usually was, but the day was January 30, SEES was going to face its final opponent on top of the Tower of Demise with little chance of victory, and Minako had seen Death with her own eyes. Today, she needed more than just a refuge.

"Get some rest, Minako," Mitsuru advised as she got up from the couch. "Tomorrow is the day."

Minako smiled, and though she could feel it wavering she hoped the others didn't notice. "I know. I..." She wanted to say, _I won't let you guys down_, like she did whenever they embarked on their missions against the Shadows. But then Ryoji's face — sad, broken, pleading — popped into her head, and she realized that this was different. No matter what they said ("It'll be like usual," "Let's do this like we always do," "No problem"), Nyx was _different_.

"Minako?" came Junpei's voice, concerned. He always could read through her facade.

Still she laughed, wiping away any trace of the worry or hesitance that had gripped her just seconds ago. She was the leader, and a leader couldn't crumple under the pressure — not here, not so close to the end. "Wow, I really am tired," she said, stretching out her arms and torso with exaggeration. She could see the disbelief in both Junpei and Yukari's eyes. Ken, who was way too perceptive for his age, scrutinized her with narrowed eyes. "You're right, I better hit the hay. It'd be embarrassing if I slip tomorrow, yeesh." She knocked off Junpei's cap ("Hey!"), patted Aigis on the arm, waved to Fuuka, and pulled Koromaru into a bone-crushing hug before sauntering up the stairs.

When she was alone, it hit her all at once. The weight of the world settled nicely on her shoulders, crushing her and drawing breath from her. She'd seen truth (cold, terrifying, unmerciful) in Ryoji's sorrowful eyes, when he took on the form of Death. She wasn't sure what the truth was, what it entailed for her, her friends, or the rest of the world, but it scared her. Her hands were shaking, knees buckling, heart racing. She tried to rationalize and calm herself, tried to tell herself that she had carried Death within her for years, that she had no right to be afraid — but she was. Carrying Death should have made her strong and invincible and impenetrable, but she was still human.

She couldn't be alone, but she couldn't face the others because they all knew her too well by now. She had to be strong, even if it was just a mask. They couldn't know she was afraid; what kind of leader would that make her? She'd led them thus far, and she wasn't going to let her friends down now, not when it mattered the most.

So she sought refuge.

Akihiko's door opened as soon as she knocked. He was dressed in his pajamas (sweats, red — always red — t-shirt), a damp towel hung around his neck, and his hair was still wet from a shower. "Oh, Minako," he greeted, surprised. "I was just gonna head down to join you guys."

"I just came up," she said. "I..." She wasn't tired. She didn't want to rest. She didn't want to sleep and face phantoms of boys with sad eyes and omens.

Her body language was a giveaway in itself, but there was something else Akihiko saw that threw him off. "Minako." He took hold of her shoulders gently, coerced her to look up at him rather than at the ground. "What's wrong?"

"I'm..." _I'm fine_ was useless against Akihiko in the first place, but at this point she was too tired to even lie believably. "Aki, I'm..." Tears would be appropriate and understandable. Minako firmly believed that crying was not a sign of weakness, that it required great strength to cry in front of others, but she couldn't. She'd never been much of a crier, and when she did it was short. _"Maybe I'm weak. Maybe I can't do this. Maybe I'm not strong."_

He sighed, soft and loving, and pressed his lips against her forehead. They lingered. "It's okay to feel this way," he murmurs against her skin. "You don't have to be fearless all the time, Minako. You're human, just like the rest of us."

_Human._ It was okay to feel, because she was human. It was okay to err and to falter, because she was human. "Aki." It was okay to be selfish and think of herself, just this once, because she was human.

She pushed or he pulled, perhaps a mixture of both, into his room, onto his bed.

While her fingers urgently tugged, his carefully stroked and traced. While her hands grabbed and yanked, his held her tenderly, but with enough force to keep her down. His fingers trailed along the curve of her spine, making her cold and hot all at once, settled at the dip of her back. Her sighs melted against his groans, her pants swallowed by his eager mouth, her cries stifled by his collar bone and the apex of his neck. Wherever his mouth went, his hands followed.

He held her hips, stroked the soft skin with his thumbs, and pushed into her. She shuddered and gasped, pulled him closer with the intent to melt into him. She needed to close the distance, as much as she possibly could. His name rolled off her tongue like a melody, over and over again like he was her world.

His fingers laced through hers as the pleasure began to set in. "Minako," he breathed.

When he said her name, her chest wracked with sobs, long-suppressed tears welled up in her eyes, and her arms wrapped around his neck. Just one word from Akihiko was enough to make her feel whole. "Aki, I love you." The wave crashed over both of them when he urgently pressed his mouth against hers, hurriedly, sloppily, without much thought. They just _felt_, and that was enough.

They laid in silence long after, entangled in one another and in his blankets; the euphoria had yet to ebb away. Akihiko rolled over onto his side so that he was facing Minako, whose eyes were half shut yet still wide awake. His fingers trailed across her collar bone and down her arm, leaving a path of goosebumps and shivers in their wake. "Promise me," he murmured, "that we won't forget each other, after the battle is over."

She caught his gaze with wavering strength. "If we defeat Nyx..."

"When he defeat Nyx," he corrected softly, "we'll lose all our memories. But this is different, isn't it? This is... This is something that no one can take away from me." She smiled as he took ahold of her hand and held it against his skin; his heart beat rapidly despite the slow rise of his chest. "Minako, you're the only person..."

She used her free hand to push some stray silver hair away from his forehead. "I promise," she said. She wanted this — this moment, her and Akihiko, her life as it was — to last forever. She wanted to be selfish longer. She knew, however, as soon as she left this room, her refuge, that would be put to an end. Reality would make sure of it. "I don't wanna leave," she whispered, moving closer to him.

He traced circular patterns on the exposed skin of her back. "Then don't." It was that simple.

* * *

_Closing Song:_ "Fairytale" - Alexander Rybak

* * *

It is 4:30 in the morning. I have not slept because I drank coffee at 9. I wrote this. I desperately need to sleep. Huzzah.

(P.S. I love all of you for your encouraging and wonderful reviews.)

**xx, **der kapitan


	25. The Final Hour

_Author's Note__:_

I was reluctant to start this because... Well, I mean, as excited as I am to finish it, it's something that also makes me sad. I mean, it's taken me like two years to finally get here, and I've got such wonderful supporters (aka you guys), even when I took obnoxious year-long absences. I don't think I'm as attached to this pairing now as I was when I started this, but I'm constantly finding inspiration for this story. Thank you all so much for your support and kind reviews; it mean so, so much to me. I may start another drabble set of some sort, but for now it's farewell to Minako and Akihiko. :) (I mean sad face, too, but...)

This is not a super happy ending, because... Well, it's P3, lesbehonest.

* * *

**Twenty-Five Hours**

a Persona 3/Portable (© ATLUS) fanfiction

_The Final Hour_

* * *

_Opening Song:_ "Her Morning Elegance" - Oren Lavie

_soon she's down the stairs  
__her morning elegance she wears  
__the sound of water makes her dream  
__awoken by a cloud of steam  
__she pours a daydream in a cup  
__a spoon of sugar sweetens up  
__and she fights for her life  
__as she puts on her coat  
__and she fights for her life on the train_

* * *

On his final day in the dorm, after the Abyss of Time disappears and Erebus is destroyed (for now), Akihiko does what he's been avoiding for nearly a month: he goes into Minako's room. It's cold and vacant; even if she didn't have very much materialistically, her presence brought warmth. The sheets are clean and folded neatly at the edge of the bed; she liked to keep them askew, claimed that making her bed was "pointless and ridiculous" because it'd get messed up at night anyway. The curtains are closed; Minako always liked to keep them open, to take in the sun and admire the moon. There's nothing on her desk; Akihiko had never seen a more cluttered desk than Minako's, with all the books, papers, and half-read manga. The walls are blank and white; Minako kept a calendar to write down people's birthdays and plans, and she pinned up pictures of all her friends. It isn't Minako's room anymore.

His feet take him over to the corner of the room, where a cardboard box is sitting. Akihiko picks it up, places it on the desk, and opens it. Inside is a strange collection: a cell phone strap, a pig key holder, a silver key, a leather watch, a cheap lighter, persimmon fruit, a leather pouch, a motorcycle key, a dirty collar, a charred screw, red headphones, a bead ring, a reserve tag, a letter, a worn notebook, a memory stick, a tennis guide, a ring with a strange glow, and a rabbit doll. None of these things belong together, but in this box, altogether, they represent a part of Minako. A part, he thinks, that she reluctantly left behind.

Akihiko picks up the rabbit doll, looks into its black eyes and admires the faux auburn hair. _"It looks like you,"_ he'd said to her.

He digs around through the box, almost feels invasive when his gloved fingers touch the other items, and finds another familiar item. He flips open the music box with his thumb and a soft, almost haunting melody plays. He promised he'd get her a new piece of jewelry every Christmas to put in the box. He promised he'd keep her warm. He promised he'd never forget her. He promised they would never be apart.

But where is Minako now? _Dead_, he thinks. Dead and cold, after he'd forgotten about SEES and the Shadows and the very thing that brought them together. He and Minako would never be together again; he'd broken all of his promises to her.

The sob in his mouth is painful and searing as he slams his fists against the desk. The music box shuts, its song ending abruptly and shrilly.

Minako shouldn't have died — she shouldn't have been the only one to die. Mitsuru, Yukari, Junpei, Ken, Koromaru, Aigis, Fuuka, Akihiko, even Shinjiro — all of them are back, alive. _All_ of them fought Nyx, _all_ of them faced Death_, all_ of them should have died that night on January 31st, so why did it have to be just _her_? Why _her_?

Metis's answer should be enough, but for Akihiko it isn't. Minako had to die to protect mankind, to become the Great Seal, to stop Nyx from ever returning. It makes sense rationally, but nothing about Shadows or Nyx or SEES or anything is rational. A group of high schoolers fighting in the Tower of Demise against monsters isn't rational. One teenage girl dying for the sake of humanity and sacrificing herself to protect the world is not rational. It's not rational and it's not fair.

Akihiko draws away from the desk, from the belongings most precious to Minako. His body slumps down on the bed, which creaks under his weight. _"I should have known,"_ he thinks as he buries his face in his hands. _"I should have seen it."_

In that final month, she could barely keep her eyes open. Her body weighed down with fatigue, her legs kept buckling underneath her, her hands would shake whenever she had to hold anything, and her shoulders, usually pulled back with confidence, were weak. Minako was tired, but she smiled anyway, and that smile deceived all of them into believing that she was alright. It deceived them into believing that they were just normal teenagers, that they hadn't been fighting for their lives for the past year, that everything was okay. Nevermind the fact that Nyx had made her bleed and she was an inch away from death and barely got away. (And for what — to live a month where everyone but her had forgotten?)

She was thinking of others, up until the very end. Minako had always been selfless; she never put herself first. Even if that was why he loved her so much, even if it was that selflessness that got through to him and moved him and inspired him, part of him hated her for it. Maybe if she had been selfish, she wouldn't be dead. Maybe if she had been selfish, she would still be here with him, now.

But, then, would she have been Minako at all? Patient Minako who waited for him when he was unsure, who reached out to him, who sought him out, who loved him unconditionally and unlike anyone else?

She bore the weight of the world until her death, and now her soul fights back the monster that threatens to eat up the world. She's still selfless in death. It'll never be over for her, he realizes, and his own shoulders sag at the thought. Akihiko wants to believe that she's finally found peace, that perhaps she's reunited with her parents, that she's made lots of friends, that she's met Miki and they've shared stories about him — but he knows this can't be. She's trapped; peace did not greet Minako in death. Instead a monster born from the depths of mankind claws at her, and her strength fends it off.

Seeing people happy made Minako happy. She saved the world through her self-sacrifice, so maybe she is happy, in the end.

Either way, Akihiko thinks it's wrong.

He sits there for a long time; time ticks on and the world continues to spin, but Akihiko is stuck in this moment, in this place. Junpei is the one who knocks on the door and checks up on him to let him know that the dorm is finally closing down. Though a part of him will always be jealous of what Minako and Junpei had (that strong friendship and connection and understanding that can only exist between two people), he's glad that it's Junpei. Junpei knows what it's like to lose a lover.

"They're kickin' us out," Junpei says, trying to grin. Akihiko notices that he doesn't come inside, that his feet are just barely on the other side of the door frame. Junpei had been the one to pack up all her things, Akihiko remembers. He was in here for hours, and when he came out his eyes were red and his knuckles were white. "C'mon, Senpai." His eyes dart to the cardboard box on the desk and linger, but only for a moment. Too many memories he's not ready to explore yet.

Somehow, he gets to his feet. He heads for the door, then stops, looking back on her old things. He wants to leave them behind (this dorm was her home, she'd told him once before), but they'll probably be moved anyway, so he takes the box and leaves with Junpei. The latter closes the door behind him, and both struggle to not look back.

* * *

Sometimes, when Akihiko closes his eyes, he can see Minako's face: bright-eyed, white smile, flushed cheeks. He remembers all of her expressions, her movements and body language, her reactions and habits. Sometimes he can still feel her warmth and hear her laughter, feel her lips and body against his. Minako is still alive in his memories and dreams.

And then he opens his eyes, and she's gone. His bed is cold, his mind reels, and his body feels heavy.

Akihiko doesn't visit Minako's grave. There's no one waiting for him but a corpse. He gave the box of her things to Mitsuru, so that they would be buried with Minako. Though they won't help her, maybe they'll ease her friends with the fact that a piece of them will always be with her. It's a sick kind of symbolism but he doesn't judge, as the rabbit doll was in the box that went into the ground.

He travels the world to get stronger, to study more forms of martial arts and increase his knowledge. (Maybe next time he'll be able to protect the one he loves, rather than the other way around.) He still talks to everyone; they have little get-togethers on Tatsumi Port Island every now and then, phone each other, e-mail each other and keep in contact through social networking. The bond isn't quite as strong as it used to be, though. Minako kept them together as their leader and friend — she was SEES's core. On top of that, it always feels wrong when all of them are together and there's a vacant seat. It's not the same.

Mitsuru calls him up, asks him where he is now, gets professional when it comes to the Shadow Operatives ("How are things on your end?" "The report today..." "We must act swiftly."), sometimes mentions Shinji. She and Minako became close friends, into the final month of their battle against the Shadows. She misses the freedom and the joy she had with the younger girl, and he knows she doesn't use her motorcycle anymore (after all, the keys are ten feet under). Over the phone, she's put together, stern, formal. She has to be strong, as the leader of the Kirijo Group. The fight isn't over, and work will never end for a Kirijo.

But her voice softens, and she asks the same question at the end, every time: "How are you doing, Akihiko?"

"Fine." He doesn't tell her about his dreams of Minako's warmth and nightmares of her battles against Erebus.

She makes a small sound, disbelieving and a little hurt that he has yet to confide in her. Perhaps, at some point, she had loved him. And, perhaps, at some point, he had loved her. But he has nothing to give her now, not while he mourns over a girl who will never return to him, and Mitsuru's loyalty would never allow her to try. "Take care of yourself," she says. She promises to check up on him, then hangs up.

Shinjiro checks up on him a lot, makes sure that he's still alive and "not being a reckless idiot." It pisses Akihiko off that Shinjiro is still treating him like a kid (not that his warnings are completely unwarranted), but he's grateful that he's even alive to call him. Shinjiro doesn't say, but Akihiko knows that he's alive because of Minako. That bullet should have killed him, but the watch in his pocket took the brunt of it. She found a way to exchange time for his life.

He talks to Fuuka, Ken, Aigis, Junpei, even goes to Yukari's wedding a couple years later. Mitsuru and Fuuka are her maids of honor, but he has a feeling she wishes Minako were here to fill the roll. When she comes up to him at the reception (dressed in white and beautiful; Minako would look breathtaking in a wedding dress), she holds his hands and gives them a soft squeeze. He understands and she tries to empathize, but neither say anything.

No one ever does. Minako is taboo. None of them will ever stop hurting because none of them will ever forget. She will always be present in their lives; it's both a blessing and a curse.

There will always be a vacant chair.

* * *

_It's the same dream he usually has. They're both sitting on the rooftop, on her final day, and the others' voices and footsteps aren't far away. This is their final moment together as Akihiko and Minako._

_ But this time he's in her arms, his head in her lap. He blinks up at her in confusion (he's had this dream too many times, recalls this memory too vividly, knows every detail _— _this isn't normal), while she brushes his hair away from his forehead. "You look tired. Have you been getting enough sleep?" she asks.. There's quiet laughter behind her words, like she knows this is a dream and a memory. "Why don't you close your eyes for a minute?"_

_ He shakes his head, though he savors the feel of her skin against his. The warmth feels so real. "Minako..."_

_ "We'll never be apart, right?" His own words cause his blood to freeze. "So don't worry. Stop losing sleep over it. Stop holding yourself back. I'm right here."_

_ He wants to believe it's true. "You're gonna leave me."_

_ She bites down on her lip guiltily. "I'm sorry," she says with sincerity. "I love you, Aki."_

_ The butterflies flutter in his stomach as wildly as they did the day he confessed to her. He takes the hand that's caressing his face and squeezes it, afraid to let go. "Stay with me," he pleads. "Stay here, with all of us."_

_ Her expression is tentative and pained. He knows what he's asking of her, but he doesn't care. "I don't wanna leave," she admits._

_ "Then don't."_

_ But it's not that simple. Nothing is that simple anymore. "I don't regret anything," she whispers. "It hurts because I have all of you guys, because I love you all so much, because I have to leave you all behind. Maybe it would've been easier if I just shut myself up in my room all year." Minako laughs, but it's hollow, unlike her usual sunshine and cheer. "But I don't regret it. To have loved and lost, right?"_

_ Anger wells up inside of him at her passiveness. Does she understand that no one wants her to die? That all of them will always have this hollow space in them because she's gone? That none of them will ever fully recover?_

_ He doesn't have to say anything; she can read it in his eyes. "I'm sorry," she repeats._

_ "Why does it have to be you?"_

_ "No matter what I say, the answer won't satisfy you," she says, and it's true. No reason will ever be good enough to explain why she has to die _— _not to him. "Life isn't about the answers, though. That's what I found out. It's about the journey. I made friends and had great food and learned a lot and fell in love. My journey's over, Aki, but yours isn't. Don't lose sight of your journey while you're looking for answers."_

_ She bends down, presses a soft kiss against his lips_—

— and his eyes open.


End file.
